


Alone in the Cold

by BreakfastTea



Series: Recovery [3]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Star Trek: Into Darkness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-18
Updated: 2016-08-13
Packaged: 2017-12-26 23:56:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 36,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/971799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BreakfastTea/pseuds/BreakfastTea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jim's home is ransacked, it quickly becomes clear the secret of his survival has found its way to a dangerous group of people, people who will stop at nothing to find out how a man can return from the dead...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Jim was exhausted. Weary of the cold weather, he was ready for a break from San Francisco’s chilly streets... 

He sneezed loudly, the sound echoing across the silent lecture hall. None of the students paused their frantic typing to look up at him. First years, he thought with a faint grin. He remembered only too well the determination to come top of the class.

...Not that he’d let anybody else know that. He’d cultivated his farm boy persona very well, if only to revel in the looks of outright disbelief as his name sat at the top of the class rankings…

Another sneeze burst through the good memories. Jim managed to stifle the groan before it could properly escape him. In his time teaching at the Academy, he'd caught every bug, virus, cough and cold going. Those, Bones informed him, were the joys of rebooting his immune system. If a cadet so much as sneezed in Jim's presence, he caught a cold. He'd spent the past four months battling various minor illnesses while teaching during the week and checking up on the Enterprise at the weekends, not to mention his bi-weekly PT sessions, the lesson plans he had to create, the assignments he had to mark and his part in the on-going investigation into Section Thirty-One. He'd worn himself to the bone. Two weeks in the cabin out in Mojave, in the sunshine, would do him some good.

He just had to make it through this final. He had faith the cadets from his tactics class would all pass, but he wasn't so sure he'd manage to stay awake for the exam’s duration if he didn't pace around under the pretence of ensuring no one was cheating or freaking out. Water bottle in hand, he paced the length and breadth of the hall. He wanted nothing more than to fall asleep at the desk. He unzipped his jacket and swigged his cool water as he walked around, doing his best to look professional rather than run ragged. Why was it so hot in here?

Time crawled by, but eventually the computer called time and the PADDs delivered the papers to his, ready for grading.

"Enjoy your break," he called as the cadets trooped out, sticking a smile on his face as best he could. "See you next semester."

He had the hall to himself within seconds. Nothing like freedom to motivate the cadets. Jim dropped the act and silently admitted he felt like overripe shit. His throat burned, his nose had surely caved in and his chest felt stuffed to the top. Jim sat at his desk and wondered how the hell he would grade all the papers before next weekend's deadline when he was very obviously coming down with something.

He rested his forehead on the desk's cool surface. He'd wanted to head to the cabin tonight, but maybe spending the rest of day in bed would be a better idea. He could always go tomorrow... 

"Jim?"

He jerked upright. He'd actually fallen asleep at his desk. Hotness rushed to his cheeks. He was a wreck...

A cool hand rested on his forehead. Jim blinked blurry eyes clear and saw Bones at the other end of it. "You're burning up," he said.

"It's just another cold," Jim said, slowly sitting up. He swallowed hard, wincing at the jagged pain in his throat. “Sorry, I was meant to meet you, wasn’t I?”

“Forget it.” Bones patted Jim's shoulder. "I'm sorry there's nothing else I can do. You've just gotta ride out the small stuff and be glad all the other vaccines are doing their job."

"I know, I know, no Andorian shingles for me."

"Or worse," Bones added ominously.

"Yeah, yeah," Jim groaned and got to his feet. He nearly lost his balance in the same moment, but Bones grabbed him and returned him to the chair. "Thanks." Eyes closed, Jim clung on, waiting for his equilibrium to restore itself. 

"This seems more like the flu than a cold," Bones said.

Jim’s brain shuddered inside his skull. He opened his eyes and turned to his best friend. "It's not the flu. It’s been a long semester, that's all."

"So much for celebratory drinks. Let's get you home. Feel ready to walk?"

"Sure." Jim accepted Bones' helping hand and waited for another wave of dizziness to pass. "I hate this."

"I know you do." Bones threw an arm around Jim's shoulders. "Remember the time you caught pneumonia in our first year?"

Jim remembered it too well, especially the bit when he'd concluded his final exam by passing out in front of everyone. He'd spent most of break in bed, coughing up all kinds of nastiness and too feverish to properly concentrate on keeping up with reading assignments or preparation for the next semester.

"Let's take care of this before you get that sick, okay?" Bones said. "A few hypos and a decent night's sleep and you'll be good to go. You’re heading to Mojave, right?"

“Right. Sun, deserts and not a scrap of fog in sight.”

Jim grabbed his coat and PADD and allowed himself to be taken away. However, when they reached the door, Bones released Jim. His friend knew him well, Jim reflected, as he put the infallible captain mask back in place and nodded politely to the cadets still gathered outside the lecture hall. Sometimes he marvelled at how young some of them looked, and every time he had the thought, he wondered what Chris Pike would've said to him. Laughed in his face and said something about coming full circle, probably. That, or offered him a drink.

Did a day go by when he didn't miss that man?

"You make a good teacher, Jim," Bones said as they stepped out into the chilly wintry day. It felt like a cooling balm over Jim's overheated skin at first, but he was shivering within moments. "Those kids really look up to you."

"Who'd've thought it?" Jim muttered. "Barnett still looks like he's expecting it to blow up in his face."

"That's only because he's impressed you turned out to be such a great instructor," Bones said. "Guess that's your retirement plan all figured out."

"Shut up! I'm only twenty-six!"

"Twenty-seven soon, kid."

Heading to the local ground transport stop, Jim barely restrained a sigh of relief as the bus appeared moments later. His apartment block was just two stops away. He never used the bus, but today was a necessary exception. By the time he got home, he only had the energy to take the elevator and plod to his door. Bones talked about meds and rest and soup, his voice barely more than a Southern buzz flittering through Jim’s mind. Entering his access code, Jim crossed the threshold of his apartment and went straight into his bedroom.

He sat down, flopped onto his side and closed his eyes. A congested but relieved sigh escaped him. He was in bed at last.

"Get some sleep, Jim. I'm gonna get some supplies for you."

Jim managed a single grunt before falling asleep. He awoke to darkness and the sound of someone poking around outside his room. Disorientated, it took his muddled mind a few moments to sort out what had happened (sick, Bones, home, bed, sleep...). Still wearing his coat and boots, Jim stumbled to his feet and wandered out to the main living area. "Bones?" he called hoarsely, rubbing his gritty eyes and yawning. A harsh cough broke out of his irritated lungs. Shit, he was a mess. "Bones, is that you?"

Something smashed. Jim startled, a sudden rush of adrenaline slamming into his heart. It wasn't Bones...

Someone grabbed Jim from behind, a foot slamming into his knees. He collapsed, arms wrapping around him. Jim tried to fight his way free, but whoever held him pinned him to the ground and sat on him.

"Get a damn move on!" The woman's voice was unfamiliar. Her strength was unreal. "We need to get out of here!" She held Jim tightly, easily fending off his struggles. "Stay still, you bastard!"

A man appeared. Jim could barely make out his features in the dimness. "Shit. He wasn't meant to be here. Someone messed up."

"Obviously, but what do we do?"

Jim kicked out, catching a shin. The man grunted, swore, and responded by sending his foot slamming into Jim's stomach. 

"Dammit, hold him!" the man shouted. 

"I am. Do something!"

"I am!" The man yanked something out of his pocket and crossed to Jim's side. Coughing heavily, lungs refusing to fill properly as the pain in his stomach radiated outward, Jim tried to break free, but the woman's grip remained unbreakable.

She wrenched Jim's head to the side and he caught a glimpse of long blond hair. "Is that enough to keep him down?" she asked the man.

Panic settled heavily in Jim’s gut. Enough of what?

A sinister chuckle sounded out. "He won't be a problem."

Jim dragged in enough breath to talk. "What the hell are you -"

A hypo jabbed his neck. Jim cried out, the startling sharpness hurting before numbness stole his body from him. His limbs lost their strength. His vision fizzled, but whatever they'd injected him with acted slowly. The pair's features faded in and out of focus. They were human, he was certain. They rooted through his belongings, looking for something but obviously not finding it. He watched through failing eyes. He couldn't move, couldn't speak, struggled to draw breath...

"It's not here!" The woman spat. "We need to go."

"Five more minutes," the man replied.

"Not a chance. We've already fucked this up and he was obviously expecting someone."

Something smashed as the man angrily tossed it aside. "Fine. We better hope the others had more luck, otherwise –"

They kept talking, but the words faded into nothingness. Vision tunnelling, Jim's eyes rolled back as he passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all your lovely comments and kudos and bookmarks. I really hope this story lives up to your expectations!

If Leonard hadn't thought to pick up a change of clothes from his apartment before going back to Jim's place, he wouldn't have discovered his ransacked home until the next day. 

But he did go home, with the intention of making it a very quick stop. Instead, as he stood, slack-jawed, in the doorway of his home, all other thoughts and distractions fell silent. He could only stare at the mess and wonder what had happened.

His apartment had been utterly ravaged.

Someone had torn the place apart, and he had a sick feeling he knew what they were looking for. A quick check confirmed his notes of the serum he'd created from Khan's blood hadn't been discovered. But to think someone had walked in here and trashed the place… Shock rapidly gave way to anger.

He called security and reported the break in. While he waited for them to come over, he tried calling Jim. When his friend failed to pick up three times in a row, worry curdled his stomach. He quickly called Spock, filled him in without mentioning specifics, and asked him to check on Jim.

"Doctor, I regret to inform you my apartment has also been... ransacked."

"What!?"

"Security are currently investigating."

"Can Nyota check on Jim? He's sick and he didn't pick up when I called."

Leonard heard Spock speaking quietly, noting Nyota's soft but audibly concerned response. "She is on her way."

Leonard couldn't quite shift the concern gnawing at his gut, but then the door chime sounded. "Alright. I gotta go. I'll let you know what happens."

"Thank you, Doctor."

Leonard ended the call. He opened the door and security entered. 

The sooner this was over, the sooner he could check on Jim. If someone had been through his and Spock's apartments...

Silently, he willed Nyota to get to Jim's as fast as she could.

***

Nyota didn't waste time. It wasn't far to Jim's place from Spock's apartment, but Leonard's concern had quickly become her own.

Someone had violated Spock's home and shown absolutely no concern for the things they'd destroyed. Her heart ached at the loss of several important objects he'd had left from Vulcan. Only people who knew him well would recognise the signs of his distress. He had so little left of his mother, and now those things were broken.

But if they'd done that to Spock's home, and Leonard's too, what if they'd been to Jim's too? What if...

She reached his building, used the visitor's access code he'd given her, and raced upstairs.

His door was ajar.

"Kirk?" She called out, carefully entering. Her foot crunched on something, and she looked down and saw a shattered photoframe. "Ki - Jim?" 

She tapped a lightswitch. As the lights came up, she saw just how trashed the apartment was.

And in the middle of it all, she saw Jim crumpled on his side, his back to her. She raced to him. Her fingers found his pulse, but it seemed too fast. His breathing was dangerously shallow. His skin burned to the touch, and no matter how loudly she called his name, he didn't react.

Communicator out, she summoned medical help and security. She went into the bathroom, grabbed a washcloth and soaked it through with cold water. Rushing back to Jim's side, she carefully lifted his head and shoulders onto her lap and placed the cold compress against his forehead.

A soft, thoughtful sound came from Jim, but his eyes didn't open. 

"It's okay, Jim," Nyota said, brushing a hand through his sweaty hair. "It's okay. You're not alone."

He grunted again, twitching slightly and frowning, but that was it. It was as though he wanted to wake up but couldn't. Nyota held his limp hand in hers. She wanted him to know he wasn't alone. She hoped he couldn’t feel the tremble in her grip. Anger flooded her. What was happening? Who was doing this? What for? This kind of home invasion disgusted her. The carelessness, the damage, the violation… and what for? Someone had done these things on purpose, but why? She pulled Jim’s body closer to her, as if to protect him from the world beyond.

Security entered, the two officers frowning at the sight of the wrecked apartment. The medical team arrived seconds later, and Nyota stepped back to let them work. They worked rapidly, talking quickly. They asked her a few questions and she made sure they knew he had several allergies.

"We'll take him to Starfleet Medical. Do you want to come?" One of the medics asked.

She just about controlled her urge to snap of course I do! "Yes. Is he going to be alright?"

"There's some kind of drug in his system and it’s impeding his vitals. The sooner that's dealt with, the better." The medic turned to her partner. "Let's go."

Ten minutes later, Nyota found herself in a hard plastic chair in SFM. Every breath tasted of medicine and disinfectant until she ceased noticing it. She'd called Leonard and Spock on the way over and knew both would arrive as soon as they could.

It was hard not to lose herself in the memories of six months ago when Jim had barely clung onto life in the depths of a coma. For him to come so far and then some senseless attack left him sick again was too unfair. He deserved better after everything he'd done and been through.

It was thirty minutes before a nurse walked up to her. He had a smile on his face. "Lieutenant Uhura?"

She sprang to her feet. "How is he?"

"Resting. They're flushing the drug from his system. Good news is he's responding well. Someone should be out to take you to him soon."

It was another hour before the doctor came out. She was Andorian, and her blue skin shone brightly in the corridor’s stark whiteness. "The drug has been dealt with, but he's clearly been unwell for a few days already. He needed some fluids to help with dehydration. The fever's coming down, but it's as stubborn as he is. Looks like we caught him in time before the virus he has mutated into anything worse, but the overdose seriously weakened his system. He'll need to rest."

"Is he awake?" Nyota asked.

"In and out. He was given a massive dose of sedative mixed with a paralytic agent. Whoever attacked him nearly killed him." The doctor offered Nyota a tight smile. “If you hadn’t found him when you did, I don’t think we’d be having this conversation.”

Sick to her stomach, Nyota hid the depth of her horror as best she could. "Can I see him?"

"Of course. This way."

Jim had a small room to himself. Sleeping on his left side, breathing far better than before, cheeks glowing red, he nevertheless looked better than he had. As she took a seat at his side, she flipped open her communicator and sent messages to Spock and Leonard. Both responded to confirm they were on their way.

"Uhura?"

She looked up from her communicator and saw bleary blue eyes blinking at her. She smiled and took Jim’s hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired?" He said it like he wasn't sure that was the right answer. "I need..." He trailed off, eyes sliding shut. 

"What do you need?"

“…remember something…” He muttered to himself, falling silent as sleep reclaimed him. The door opened as he nodded off and Nyota turned to see Spock and Leonard entering.

"He'll be okay," Nyota assured them. "He's just sleeping it off."

Leonard's eyes scanned Jim's chart. "We've been targeted by people who know who we are. Security couldn't find any evidence of illegal trespass into my apartment block. Someone hacked the system." Anger tightened his tone.

"Has anyone else had their home broken in to?" Nyota asked.

"No," Spock replied. "But whoever did this had a great deal of knowledge to find our apartments."

"Section Thirty-One?" Leonard asked quietly.

"It would be unwise to speculate at this point," Spock replied.

Nyota silently agreed. They couldn't point fingers, not yet. But whoever had been stupid enough to attack them would only live to regret it.

***

A heavy weight sat on him... on his head. It wouldn't budge. He couldn't break free. Every time he found the light, the darkness dragged him back down. Voices, people, waited for him, but he couldn't...

"Jim?"

He wrenched his eyes open. A blurry figure appeared. Was it Bones?

"Try and stay awake." Definitely Bones.

He tried to speak, but a dry, itchy cough came out instead. When it died down, Jim felt slightly more awake. He gratefully sipped the water Bones offered. "What happened?" he asked, voice husky.

"What do you remember?"

Something… he remembered… 

Jim fell asleep again before he could even think about what he needed to remember...

Home... bed... he'd felt like shit... Noise... Bones? No... no, shit, no!

He sat bolt upright, gasping for breath and very, very awake. His aching brain took in his location, hospital, just as the IV hooked into his arm gave a painful tug.

"Jim, please remain still."

"Spock?"

"Yes. Please rest. Your body has suffered both illness and an overdose."

"No, no, Spock, there were people in my apartment. I don't know where they came from... They attacked me and..." Another coughing fit consumed him. When it ended, Jim slumped back against the pillows. "What happened?"

“There has been a series of break-ins. Myself and Doctor McCoy also suffered similar breaches of ours homes We do not know who is behind the attacks, but the current evidence suggests they were highly motivated.”

“Was anybody else hurt?” Jim asked. “Are you and Bones okay?”

“We are all unharmed,” Spock replied. “Only you were physically harmed.”

“Right. Great.” He was immensely relieved to know everyone else was fine, but Jim recalled something about... what was it? A memory hovered just out of reach. The feeling echoed across his mind like the recollection had to cover a great distance. Unfortunately, his memory was hazy at best. He wasn’t sure how reliable anything in his head was. Had his students taken a final today? Yesterday? Tomorrow?

“Starfleet Security have engaged in detailed investigations and as such we will not be able to return to our homes until all the evidence has been gathered,” Spock said.

Jim nodded. His mind worked as fast as it could, gathering his suspicions and shaping them into accusations, but he knew better than to start pointing the finger without real evidence. Instead, he carefully sat straighter and rubbed his hands over his face in an attempt to shed the rest of his weariness. If only he could shake off the lingering cold and congestion as easily. “Can I get out of here yet?”

“I find it highly unlikely Doctor McCoy would respect either of our opinions on the matter.”

Jim laughed brightly. “Doesn’t mean we can’t try, Spock.”

The man himself strolled in. “Good to see you, Jim,” he said. “How’d you feel?”

“Better,” Jim said. “How long have I been here?”

“Fourteen hours,” Bones replied. “You needed to sleep off the drugs in your system before they’d risk giving you anything for the cold. You’ll be feeling pretty good until it all wears off in, oh, four hours or so.”

“Spock said I can’t go home.”

“None of us can,” Bones replied grimly. “But we can talk about that later, maybe somewhere more private. You had plans, right?”

“Subtle, Bones.” 

Bones smacked his IV-free arm.

“Ow! How is it fair to hit me when I’m stuck in bed?” 

“As soon as that IV’s finished, you’re free to go, and we will be too,” Bones said, staring at Spock. “The cabin should be nice this time of year.”

“Wait… we’re all going?” Jim asked. 

“Ain’t got anyplace else to be for a few days, so, yeah, Jim, you’re having a party.”

“A party of two,” Spock said. “Nyota’s apartment has remained untouched, and as my father is due to arrive from New Vulcan tomorrow morning for a conference, my options are varied. I shall not require your hospitality, Jim, although the offer is welcome.”

“When did I make the offer?” Jim muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you all again soon ^_^


	3. Chapter 3

Jim, armed with a bagful of cough and cold medication, was discharged later that afternoon.  Clad in the sweats he kept in his office at the Academy and a coat borrowed from Bones, he realised he had nothing else with him, not even a PADD to mark his students’ finals.  He’d always meant to leave a few things at the cabin, but he’d never gotten around to it. He wanted, _needed_ , to go home to his apartment for a few essentials, but after a brief consultation with security in the lobby, he soon realised it wasn’t possible. 

“Yours is one of a number of crime scenes, and until we uncover the link between all three, I’d rather they remain undisturbed,” said the officer in charge.  She gave him an apologetic smile.  “I’m sorry, sir.  We’ll call when it’s okay for you to return.”

Disheartened and angry, Jim retreated to Bones who’d waited outside in his ground car.  “Sorry,” Bones said automatically as Jim closed the door.

A headache had lodged itself firmly behind his eyes.  “If they don’t find the bastards that did this, I will,” Jim said, massaging his temples.

“They better hope security catches ‘em,” Bones said.

Closing his eyes against the pain in his head, Jim leaned back in his seat. “You think they’re after the serum, don’t you?”

“It seems likely,” Bones said heavily.  “Even if they found my notes, which they didn’t, they wouldn’t be able to do much with them.  Not without access to Khan or one of his crew.”

“That’s something,” Jim murmured.  Even he didn’t know where Starfleet Security had them hidden.

They drove in silence through the city’s cold streets.  Even now, six months after the _Vengeance_ had ploughed through the city, a number of diversions remained in place, protecting areas of San Francisco still wreathed in construction gear.  Bones made a quick pitstop at HQ to pick up a couple of PADDs he’d requisitioned to temporarily replace the ones they’d both left in their apartments, and then they drove over to the shuttle station.  Bones parked the ground car, grabbed a bag out the trunk and led Jim inside.

“What’s in the bag?” Jim asked.

“I said I didn’t have to be anywhere for a few days, but I’ll be heading home to Georgia at the weekend and yeah, Jim, you’re welcome to come, too.”

“Thanks, but I’ve been looking forward to some time alone for a while.  And I need to start thinking about what I’m going to do with the cabin when we’re out in space.” Jim looked around the shuttle station, the noisy crowds doing nothing to ease his headache.  “Not sure what to do yet.”

“What did Pike do with it?”

“His family took care of it, but I don’t exactly have that option.  Mom’s already off on another deep space mission, and Sam’s not planning on returning to Earth anytime soon.”

“Worry about that later, Jim. You’ve got a headache, you’re still recovering and you need time to rest.”

“How do you know I’ve got a headache?”

“Because I’m a doctor, Jim, and your poker face is slipping.” Bones smirked before turning to the departures board.  “Now, when are we getting out of here?”

Not many shuttles made stops in Mojave, but those heading down south to the South American continent did, and an hour later, they were on their way. Jim dozed off mid-flight, but it was barely thirty minutes before Bones nudged him awake and led him into bright sunshine.  Jim groaned.  He didn’t even have a pair of sunglasses. Light stabbed into his head, the ache rapidly upgrading from _annoying_ to _migraine imminent: seek bed._ Unfortunately, it was at least an hour's drive to the cabin.

Thankfully, Bones made quick work of renting a car, and quicker work still of jabbing Jim with a hypo (in the privacy of said car). 

“Get some sleep, kid,” Bones said, taking the driver’s seat again.  “I’ll wake you up when we get there.”

Jim didn’t need to be told twice.  Dreams briefly flittered across his mindscape, disrupted when Bones manhandled him out of the car and into bed sometime later when the weather was cooler and the sun lower and… and…

…and then he had _the_ dream.  Of climbing and racing and burning and dying… He awoke with a hoarse shout, sheets tangled around his legs.  He kicked them off, raced to the bathroom and just about reached the toilet in time to throw up.

It had been a while since he’d had a nightmare that vivid.

Moving to the sink, Jim turned the tap on with a shaking hand and jumped when the handle snapped off.  He stared dumbly at it for a moment, like the now useless lump of metal would explain itself to him.  After making use of the gushing water, Jim ducked under the sink and turned off the local water access point.

That came off in his hand too, though thankfully after the water had shut off.

Sitting on the bathroom floor, Jim stared at the two metal handles and laughed shakily.  Maybe he’d be spending his time off engaged in some serious maintenance. 

“Jim?”

“I’m fine, Bones.”

Bones stuck his head in and frowned.  “Sitting on the floor in your bathroom probably isn’t fine, Jim.” He stared at Jim’s hands.  “Did you break both of those?”

“Um… I guess they needed replacing...”

Shaking his head, Bones headed back out.  “If you feel up to it, I’ve got breakfast ready.  Don’t even try convincing me you didn’t just throw up in here.  I know that smell.”

Leaving the handles behind, Jim got up and followed Bones.  “Breakfast? Isn’t it the middle of the night?”

“It’s 0530.”

Jim stared out the dark window. “Really?”

“Really. You slept through the evening and the night, Jim.  Feel better for it?”

“Good enough to rip handles off taps,” Jim replied with a grin… and a sneeze.

Bones cocked an eyebrow. “Looks like you’ll be keeping busy once you’re feeling better.”

“Yeah.” Moving into the lounge, Jim grabbed a tissue just in time. An explosive series of sneezes tore out of him.  “Ugh.”

“Find one of those companies that take care of rarely used properties and let them take care of it,” Bones said wandered into the kitchen.  “Either that or ask someone you know to take care of it.”

“Who do I know who’s staying on Earth?” Jim asked before blowing his nose loudly.

“Archer?” Bones reached the breakfast bar and grabbed his coffee.  He pushed a second mug in Jim’s direction.  “He’d probably appreciate cabin-sitting for you.”

“I dunno, Bones, he’s pretty old.”

“The man can fly to other planets but you think a quick hop cross-country will finish him off? You know Archer can call in any favour he wants, right? They’d probably just beam him over.”

“Maybe.” Jim frowned at the coffee.  His stomach seemed remarkably settled despite its previous emptying, but he couldn’t taste a damn thing. He took another sip. Nothing. _Wonderful._   “Think it’s too early to call security and see if they’ve found anything?”

“Wait ‘til they call us,” Bones replied, passing Jim a plate of biscuits and scrambled egg.  “They’ll probably be sending someone to get your statement.”

“I barely remember anything.” He remembered someone holding him and someone else jabbing something against his neck.  “It was dark and I was half-asleep.”

Bones stared at Jim.  “Do you think it was Section Thirty-One?”

“You obviously do.” Forcing himself to not play with his food, Jim took a bite of his biscuit, silently marvelling at his friend’s culinary talent even if he couldn't taste it.  “Where’s your research now?”

“I’ve got it with me.  What if someone on the security team is corrupt, found it, and handed it over to the bastards that did this?”

Jim’s lips twitched.  “Paranoid, Bones?”

“You’re damn right I am. Someone’s after us, Jim, and until we know who it is and put a stop to them, we can’t relax.”

Was it Section Thirty-One? Jim had worked hard with Archer’s team to dig up all they could find on the elusive Starfleet branch. Thirty-One took secretive to a whole new level, and Jim knew they’d barely scratched the surface of what was a far-reaching and deeply entrenched Starfleet institution. These people knew how to lurk in the shadows, and they knew how to bury themselves. It was possible they’d somehow uncovered the truth of Jim’s recovery, but with Starfleet gunning for them, how could they hope to put the information to any kind of use?

And if it wasn’t them, who else could it be? Try as he might, Jim couldn’t think of any other reason for his, Bones’ and Spock’s homes to be ransacked. 

Something else itched in his mind, a memory of the attack he couldn’t quite grasp.  Something the man had said.  What was it?

“You look like you’re trying to fit a square peg in a round hole,” Bones said. “What’s wrong?”

Startling out of his thoughts, Jim shook his stuffy head.  “I don’t know. Something the man in my apartment said… Something…” He broke off with a wordless grumble.  “It’s no good. I can’t remember."

“Stop thinking about it and it’ll come back to you.”

“That official medical advice, doctor?”

“Yeah. Don’t make me make you stop thinking.”

Jim snorted, sneezed, coughed and laughed in rapid succession.  All of it added up to a worsening headache.  “I’m going back to bed,” he said, fetching himself a bottle of water from the fridge.  “I’ll sort out the taps later.”

Plodding back to bed, Jim fell into it face first. It didn’t take long for sleep to claim him.  Dark nightmares greeted him, the twisted hallways of his apartment looming over him as he tried to run away from someone…

He jolted awake, sunlight streaming over him.  Sitting up, shaking off the nightmares, his thoughts locked onto the memory he couldn’t recall…

…The nightmares hadn’t shaken it loose.  It was almost like he could hear a voice but not the actual words…

Weary but unwilling to sleep again, Jim returned to the main area of the cabin where he could hear Bones talking to someone at the door.  Looking to see who it was, Jim noted the pair of Starfleet security officers just as they saw him. 

“I hope you’ve got good news,” Jim said, rubbing a hand through his hair and wishing he’d taken a shower before venturing out of his room. He could’ve at least found himself a fresh set of sweats, or even upgraded to old jeans.

“I’m afraid not, sir,” said the older of the pair. Dark skinned and middle-aged, she had grey hair restrained in a tight bun and a stern look on her face.  “But perhaps we could discuss it inside?”

Bones stepped aside and the pair entered, although the junior officer, a young man barely in his twenties with massive green eyes and olive skin, stayed slightly behind the woman.

“I’m Commander Daina and this is Lieutenant Pritchard,” Daina said as Jim showed them to the lounge area. “I’ll get straight to the point.  Whoever did this knew what they were doing.  Security cameras were disabled in every apartment three days before the break-ins, and absolutely no traces of DNA were found, despite the messes they left behind.  They were looking for something, but what that was and why remains a mystery.”

Jim and Bones shared a look but said nothing.

“We were wondering if perhaps there is anything you remember, sir,” Pritchard said politely. 

Jim frowned.  The itch remained in his brain, flickers of a memory he could access tickling his consciousness. What was it? Something... words... Yes! Something the man said... And, all of a sudden, it came back to him.

"They knew I wasn't meant to be there," Jim said. "I'd planned on coming here straight away, but then I got sick so I stayed at home. They broke in, thinking I'd be gone..."

“Who was aware of this?” Daina asked, leaning forward.

Jim thought of the most likely candidates.  He’d held a study group for some of the cadets in his class to help them prepare for the final. Some of them had asked what he’d planned to do for the winter break and he’d told them… “One of the cadets in my class told whoever’s behind this I wouldn’t be there.”

“Which cadet?” Daina prompted.

Sitting quietly, eyes closed, Jim reviewed his memory…

_The review session ended, Jim stayed at his desk and watched the cadets file out… A few approached his desk for last minute tips, earnest faces staring at him, PADDs ready to record whatever he said, and he offered what advice he could and told them to relax.  “This is your first year and I’m not looking to trick you.  If you’ve kept up in class, which everyone has, you’ll do fine. Don’t worry so much.”_

_“And if we haven’t kept up, sir?” came a cocky voice with a jokey tone._

_Jim turned to the young man grinning at him.  “If you haven’t kept up, cadet, I would’ve known about it and kicked you out a while ago.”_

_“Glad to hear it,” the cadet replied._

_“So don’t worry so much.” Jim looked at their eager expressions.  “Take the final, then get out of here and enjoy the winter break.”_

_“Any plans yourself, sir?” the same cadet asked._

_“Heading out of the city as soon as the final’s over. I’ve got a ship to check up on as well as grading to take care of.” He gave them a melodramatic sigh.  “And you think you’ve all got it so hard.”_

_The small gathering of cadets chuckled politely before filing out of the room._

“Him,” Jim said, returning to the present.  “What was his name?” Standing up, he retrieved his borrowed PADD from his room, returned to his seat and brought up the class list for the tactics class. Face after face rolled up the screen as he ran over the students’ IDs.  There. That one, with the happy smile.  “Cadet Miles Travis.” He tapped the young man’s image and brought up his squeaky clean academic record.  “There were a few others hanging around, too.” Jim put their records alongside Cadet Travis’ and passed the PADD to the security officers.  “You’ll let me know what you find?”

“Of course, Captain,” Daina replied, copying the data from his PADD to her own. “Your apartment will be ready for you tomorrow, should you wish to return home.” She glanced at Leonard. “Same goes for you.”

With their business concluded, the security officers left.  After seeing them out, Jim returned to his chair, doing his best to ignore the renewed headache thrumming deep in his skull.

“You think one of your cadets is a spy for Thirty-One?” Bones asked as he handed Jim a glass of fresh orange juice and a plate of toast. 

“Who else could it be?” Jim asked. He was silent as he nibbled the toast, too lost in thought to notice he couldn’t taste anything.  He swallowed and chased it down with a swig of OJ.  “And Travis… I dunno. He seemed like a good kid.”

Bones held his coffee mug between his hands, rolling it back and forth in his palms.  “Think they’ll catch up with this kid?”

“Not a chance. He’s long gone.” Jim’s eyes strayed to his PADD. Scrubbing a hand over his eyes, he shut down the students’ profiles and brought up the long list of finals in need of grading.  The first chunk of the exame was easy – old-school multiple choice questions – and his PADD automatically collated the answers.  The essay question in the second part of the final was where his work waited.

“Bet you’re wishing you had TAs now, right?” Bones said.

“No.” Jim brought up Cadet Travis’ exam and scrolled through to the essay section.  “My class, my final, my work.”

“But –” 

“Fine, you wanna help, Bones?”

“Er, that’s not –”

“I asked them a pretty basic, Starfleet-worthy question. _Your ship’s under Klingon attack and you can shield only one of two areas – the bridge or sickbay. Which do you choose_?”

“You better’ve said sickbay when you answered this question in your cadet days, Jim.”

A brief smile flittered across Jim’s pale face.  “The answer is I’d accept either answer, so long as there’s a damn good argument attached to it.”

“Cadet Travis’ answer?”

Jim swallowed, wincing slightly as his sore throat reminded him of its existence.  “Cadet Travis informed me he’d never find himself in such a situation as his first and foremost duty as a Starfleet officer is to _seek new life and new civilisations._ ”

“You’re pissed?”

“No, I’m impressed… which is probably how he knew I’d react.”

“Seems like Captain Kirk’s reputation of doing and expecting the unexpected has inspired a few of the cadets,” Bones said, chuckling into his coffee mug.  “Always wondered if that would come back to bite you in the ass.”

“You’re enjoying this way too much.”

“Fine, compare his answer to another one.  See if he’s a fluke.”

When Jim found several other smartass answers (including _as my primary goal is to train as a diplomat, I would instead communicate directly with the Klingons in their native tongue and convince them of their cowardly actions and inspire them to commit ritual suicide as befitting such uncharacteristic behaviour for their species)_ , he was forced to admit defeat.

“This battle, anyway,” he said after taking a dose of cold meds.  “If they think I’m letting them get away with it, they’ve got another thing coming.”

“You’re not supposed to be in competition with a bunch of cadets.”

“Says who?” Jim replied distractedly, reading an answer from one of the quietest students he had, an eighteen-year-old woman who’d been in the study group alongside Travis.  At least she’d argued to protect sickbay and provided a probably workable way to operate the ship’s essential systems from there. “You can’t tell me none of our instructors were out to get us.”

“You’re out to get your students?”

“Maybe.  They can’t be better than their teacher.”

Bones snorted.  “We were.  One of my xenobiology teachers didn’t know his human ears from a Carpathian Pox worm.  And you do remember the Kobayashi Maru, right?”

Jim waved the comment away.  “I am gonna fry their damn brains with their next test.”

“Getting a little overly competitive, aren’t you?”

“What? No! They have to know I’m better, because I damn well am!”

Bones stared at him.  “Put the PADD down, Jim. I think maybe this is all getting to you.”

For a single, tense moment, Jim glared at Bones, ready to argue.  But as he stared at his friend, Jim remembered he wasn’t the only one who’d suffered.  He also remembered exactly how much medication his best friend had prescribed for him, and just how much it was probably affecting him.  “You’re right, sorry.” He groaned and massaged his aching temples.  Saving his work, he dropped the PADD onto the coffee table.  Leaning his head back, Jim stared at the ceiling.  “I really can’t be in competition with my students, can I?”

“No, and no good teacher should be.  You’re not trying to beat them, not really, and you know it. But right now you’re sick, you’ve been through some shit and you need to take a break. Don’t make me sign you off duty.”

Jim pointed at his discarded PADD.  “You don’t need to.”

Bones gave Jim a look that said otherwise.

Jim sighed.  “Fine. No more grading today.” He stood up.  “I should probably go fix the taps and find out what else needs doing around here.”

“Good idea,” Bones said.  “Last thing I want is the shower exploding or the roof caving in.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Bones.”

“That’s my line!” Bones called as Jim shuffled off to find the necessary plumbing tools.

Jim spent the afternoon doing odd jobs around the cabin.  In the attic he found such a wide range of unopened spare parts, including several new taps, he wondered if Chris had intended to carry out some repair work. Fixing, replacing and cleaning calmed the rage bubbling in Jim’s chest and distracted him from the cold’s lingering symptoms.  His communicator beeped while he was sweeping the deck out back and Scotty’s cheery voice sounded out, begging Jim to swing by the shipyard as soon as possible, promising he’d love what he’d see.

“ _Just wait ‘til you won’t risk spreading whatever virus you’re currently hosting,_ ” Scotty said sternly.  “ _I need my people at the top of their game.  If I hear so much as one sniffle from any of ‘em, I’ll ban you from visiting again ‘til the_ Enterprise _is back in spacedock.  It’ll hurt me to do it, Jim, but I will if I have to._ ”

“Don’t worry, I won’t be coming for a few days yet.” Jim stared out across the barren landscape, watching the sunset.  “I’m looking forward to seeing the ship again.  The last update you sent me sounded great.”

“ _Ah, you’re in for a real treat when you get here!_ ”

The call ended.  Jim dropped the communicator into his pocket and took a refreshingly deep breath. The sun’s final rays of the day warmed his skin.  He heard the porch door slide open as Bones came out to join him.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Jim said.  “I think so.”

“Good.”

Jim glanced at Bones, grinning.  “Did you bring any of your good bourbon?”

“Sure, and if you eat a proper meal maybe you can have some.”

"You're a good man, Bones."

"Flattery won't work on me, kid. It's dinner or nothing."

"Dinner it is," Jim said. 

One way or another, everything was going to be fine.


	4. Chapter 4

Three days, a lot of grading and a ton of menial repairs later (seriously, how had Bones managed to pull the front door off its hinges simply by closing it? "Because you kept slamming it and I just opened it at the wrong time!"), Jim was over the worst of the cold and saying farewell as Bones boarded a shuttle bound for Georgia.

"Heading to Iowa?" Bones asked.

"Later. I need to check in with Command first, see if Security found anything." Jim shifted his backpack further up his shoulder. "I'll stay at the farmhouse in Riverside for a couple of days then spend the rest of winter break out here with the peace and solitude of my own company."

"You sure you don't wanna home with me? You still need fattening up, and you know how my aunt -"

“No.” Moved by a sudden wave of gratitude, Jim grabbed Bones and pulled him into a hug. "Go. Eat, drink, be merry and, most of all, quit worrying about me. I'm fine."

Bones hugged back, patting Jim on the back. "Alright. Be safe. Take damn good care of yourself."

"And you," Jim said, stepping back. "Bring some good Southern food home with you."

"I'll see what I can do." And with that, Bones boarded the shuttle and Jim was alone in the bright morning sun, waiting for the next shuttle to San Francisco.

Two hours later, Jim stepped back into his apartment. Reluctantly acknowledging he had a lot of cleaning to do, he dumped his bag on the ground. Security, their investigation complete, had left his home as messy as they had found it. There wasn't time now. On his way back to the city, he'd received an urgent summon from Command. He had time to shower and dig out a clean uniform before he was out the door and heading to HQ.

The shining structure at the heart of Starfleet had been repaired months ago, but staring up at it, the top hidden by fog, Jim felt a pang of sadness. He'd been here several times since Pike had died there, but he had a feeling today would only bring bad news.

Stepping inside, finding the place extremely noisy after the peace and quiet of the cabin and then his apartment, Jim headed to the main desk. A receptionist sent him towards one of the smaller conference rooms on the fifth floor.

Barnett and Komack waited for him, along with a new admiral Jim couldn't name.

"Captain Kirk, it’s good to see you. You’re looking well," Barnett said, indicating the chair Jim should take. "I take it you're fully recovered?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. This is Admiral Yumi Tanaka, our new head of Security," Barnett said.

"I wish I had good news to give you," she said, speaking with a hint of a Japanese accent. "Cadet Travis is dead. We found him in his dorm at 0800. Suicide."

"Suicide?" Jim echoed, his mind scarcely processing the word, let alone its meaning. "How? Why?"

"He hanged himself. There was a note on his PADD. He'd sent it to his parents. We'd already discovered his body by then, but the note, well..." Tanaka shook her head sadly. "It sheds light on a few issues." She slid a PADD across the table. "What do you think?"

Jim read it several times. It wasn't long, there wasn't much to it, but something didn't feel right. Travis hadn't seemed the type. Jim wasn't naïve enough to think severely depressed people made it clear that's what they were considering, but...

This was wrong. This was all wrong.

"Are you investigating this as a murder?" Jim asked.

Tanaka met his gaze coolly. "You think he's involved in the break-ins?"

"If he was, someone got to him before he could talk," Jim said.

"Care to speak plainly, Captain?" Tanaka demanded.

Jim appreciated her directness, although he knew he had to tread lightly regarding certain truths. Bones and Spock had covered up more than a few lies about his death. "Were Section Thirty-One behind this?"

"We have nothing to prove it," Tanaka said. "Unless you do?"

"Who else could find the home addresses of three Starfleet officers and disable the security in such a way it's impossible to track them?" Jim asked. "You think people on the outside know information like that?"

"It's possible we've been hacked," Komack said. "We've got people looking into it."

Jim took a few moments to rein in his temper. Security should be tearing through Travis' life, working out who he was linked with and who might've murdered him. "What about the other cadets I mentioned to the security officers? Anything on them?"

"Nothing," Barnett said. "They are all exemplary students."

"Something isn't right here, you have to see that," Jim said. "Whoever targeted myself, Mr Spock and Doctor McCoy didn't happen upon us accidentally. They're after something, and they'll try again."

"Why?" Komack asked. "What are they looking for?"

"If I knew that, you'd know that," Jim said, lying smoothly.

"We aren't dropping it, I assure you of that," Tanaka said. "We called you here so you heard it from us rather than the media."

"Alright."

"We'll contact you should we find out more," Tanaka said. "Enjoy the rest of your winter break."

Recognising the dismissal, Jim stood, nodded to the gathered admirals and took his leave, mind racing.

Uhura, he thought. He needed to see Uhura.

***

"Captain, how are you?" Nyota smiled at Jim, stepped aside and showed him in. "Spock's with his father for the day, but –"

Remembering his manners and gladly removing his boots, Jim placed them alongside the other shoes by the main door. "It's you I wanted to see," he said. "I need your help with something."

"Something against regulation?" she asked with a small smile.

He laughed. "It's like you know me."

She smiled and led him to a plush couch, the deep maroon cushions threatening to swallow him if he relaxed too much. As it was he couldn't contain a sigh of pleasure as he sank into it. Nyota rolled her eyes with mock despair but said nothing. Blushing, Jim sat up and did his best to look professional.

"It's related to the break-ins," he said, unzipping his jacket and placing it at his side. He belatedly wished he’d gone home and changed out of the stifling uniform. "How's Spock holding up?"

"He struggled, but we've tidied and he's come to terms with the violation as best he can," Nyota replied. “Spending time with his father seems to help as well.”

Jim nodded, thinking of the state of his own home and knowing he hadn't even begun to clean it up and assess any losses. "I think one of the cadets in my tactics class was involved, but I've just found out he committed suicide."

"You think someone killed him," Nyota said plainly, although sadness for the loss of life flickered in her deep brown eyes.

Jim nodded. "You know we can't exactly speak openly with Command about a few of the finer details of the break in –”

“Like the research they were probably searching for,” Nyota says with a knowing smile.

“Yeah, exactly, so I need your help to look into the kind of people Cadet Travis communicated with."

“You suspect Section Thirty-One?”

“They’re top of the list, but let’s not rule out others.”

“Others like who?”

Jim shook his head. “I have no idea, but I can’t get tunnel vision about this. None of us can.”

Nyota nodded. “I understand. I’ll do it.”

“I’ll hack his file and –”

“You don’t need to do that, sir. I know communication networks better than anyone, including you.”

“I don’t doubt that for a minute, but seeing as this isn’t official business, drop the sir.”

“Alright, Kirk.”

“Jim’s fine, Uhura.”

“Then you can call me Nyota.”

Happy surprise brought out a bright smile. “Really?”

“Really,” she said. “Just this once.” And she winked.

A chuckle escaped him as he gave in and relaxed into pillowed heaven. “This couch is the best thing ever, Nyota.” He liked the sound of her name. He’d known it for a while, but this was the first time he’d properly used it. He was a little giddy… Or maybe just dozy. The couch sapped his energy. It felt _really_ good.

“Why don’t you stay for lunch?” Nyota suggested.

“I’m meant to be heading to Iowa.”

“To see your mother?”

He shook his head. “She’s already shipped out. I need to see the _Enterprise_.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah. Scotty’s waiting.” Oh, but he did not want to get up. He really, really, really didn’t want to. He closed his eyes, relishing the cushiony comfort. “I should get up.”

“Stay for lunch.”

He opened one eye, but Nyota was already hard at work on her PADD. He smiled and closed it. “Lunch, okay.”

…He woke up an hour later with the smell of curry tickling his nostrils, a blanket covering him and his jacket bundled under his head. He snapped upright, flushing bright red as Nyota clocked his return to the land of consciousness and cocked an eyebrow.

“Ah,” he started.

Nyota waved a hand. “Whoever the cadet was in touch with did a pretty good job of covering their tracks,” she said. Hair in a messy bun, stylus in hand and mug of tea at her side, she offered him a bright smile. “Good nap?”

“Yeah. Sorry.” He ran a hand through his hopelessly messy hair. “Didn’t mean to fall asleep. I wasn’t even tired ‘til I sat down.”

“Don’t worry about it. The couch has that effect on practically everyone who sits on it. You didn’t even snore.”

She had a devilish look in her eyes. Jim steeled himself. “How many pictures did you take?”

“Only one, when Leonard asked me if I knew why you weren’t answering your communicator. He said you looked adorable.”

“Bones said that?”

Nyota cocked her head to one side, loose strands of hair brushing her shoulders. “Maybe I didn’t get the level of grouchiness quite right.”

Shaking his head, Jim forced himself to his feet. “Did you find anything else?”

“Maybe. There were a lot of proxies to track my way through, but I think I found the origin. Cadet Travis received a lot of calls from a remote area of the continent. I can’t find any recordings of the calls themselves, but I checked the location and there is nothing there. No town, no installations, nothing. It’s wasteland.”

“Where is it?”

“Northern Nevada. If there ever was anything there, I can’t find a record of it.”

Jim took a seat at the table, numerous possibilities running through his mind. He needed to get to the bottom of it, but his desire to know warred with his need to head over to Iowa.

“I’ll keep working. There’s no point moving on the location until I find some evidence something’s worth seeing other than empty space,” Nyota said as she stood. “Are you hungry? The curry should be ready by now.”

Standing up, Jim helped her serve up a delicious vegetarian meal, full of aromatic spices, vegetables and the kind of wholesome goodness that would have Bones applauding Nyota’s healthy lifestyle. As they returned to the table, bowls in hand, Nyota kept the conversation focused on everything not related to the break-ins or the _Enterprise_. It worked wonders. Jim relaxed, laughed, enjoyed the company and definitely enjoyed the meal.

As they cleaned the dishes, Jim’s communicator beeped. It was Scotty on the other end. “ _Are you coming? I’ve got a lot to show you. Thought you’d be here first thing_.”

“Sorry, something came up.” Jim’s eyes flicked to the nearest clock. “I’ll be there early evening. I’ll meet you at the dockyard.”

“ _Great. I’ll give you the full tour. Cannae wait to show you the improvements we’ve made since you were last here._ ”

“Sounds perfect.”

“ _And I’ve sent you an update with the latest upgrades_.”

“I’ll read them on the flight over. See you soon, Scotty.”

“ _Aye._ ”

Flipping his communicator shut, Jim returned it to his pocket. He passed his clean plate to Nyota who placed it in a cupboard. “I gotta go,” he said. “Keep me updated. And stay safe. Don’t do anything dangerous.”

“I won’t.” She saw him to the door where he paused to put his boots back on. Her hand rested lightly on his shoulder. “Try and have some downtime though, okay? Classes will start up again before you know it and you’ll probably catch whatever bugs the cadets bring back with them.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Thoughts already churning, Jim gave her the most reassuring look he could manage. “But I’ll do my best.”

“Good.” She reached up and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “I’ll be in touch.”

Jim returned to his apartment, changed out of his uniform and grabbed a few essentials. He limited his focus, never looking anywhere but at the things he needed. The clean-up would have to wait. There was too much else to do…

…Starting with the _Enterprise_ , followed by whatever was hiding in Nevada.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to work and an upcoming wedding (not mine :P), the next chapter won't be up before November, but I am working on a little something for Halloween. Hopefully I'll see you all soon :D


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience with this one! All your comments, kudos and bookmarks are hugely appreciated!

Jim had just left his apartment building when his communicator chimed, indicating he’d received a message.  Flipping it open, he found a text from Sulu offering him a ride over to Riverside.  Relieved he wouldn’t have to take a regular shuttle, Jim responded with an affirmative and received a bay number.

At HQ’s main port, Jim found Sulu waiting for him.  “Good to see you, sir,” Sulu said, showing Jim aboard an older, but clearly well-loved shuttle.  “You look well.”

“Thanks.” Jim took the co-pilot’s seat.  “How goes the botany class?”

Sulu took his chair. “Good, aside from the student who turned out to be allergic to my Weeper Plant, Beauregard.  Poor kid had the shock of his life.”

Jim stared at the other man.  “That thing has a name?”

“You didn’t know?” Sulu asked innocently as he entered the start-up sequence. “How many times have you fed my plant?”

“Loads, sure, but I never… Beauregard, really?”

Sulu chuckled.  “Really.” The shuttle lurched off the ground.

Jim pulled his PADD out of his bag, but he couldn’t wipe the stunned look off his face.  “Beauregard,” he muttered.  He laughed.  “Is there a story behind that name?”

Grinning as he negotiated a tight turn out of the bustling port, Sulu made an offer.  “Beat me at fencing and I’ll tell you.”

“Damn, man, Bones is right about you.  Total hidden badass.” Laughing, Jim turned his PADD on.  “But I will beat you.”

“Sure you will.”

“I’m taking that as a challenge,” Jim said as he accessed the report Scotty had sent him. 

“Better get training,” Sulu replied smoothly.

“Challenge accepted,” Jim said.

“Glad to hear it.”

The shuttle left San Francisco behind.  They talked quietly as they flew, Sulu taking the time to explain the shuttle was an old Sulu family vehicle and he’d kept it working long after its sell-by date and the Academy took care of it while he was off-planet.  Jim read over Scotty’s report rapidly, mostly happy at the progress of repairs.  There were a few things he wanted to look at himself, and he knew Scotty would have better ideas than the run of the mill Starfleet repair orders…

“What takes you out to Riverside?” Jim asked Sulu.

“Mr Scott wanted me to take a look at the helm system.  He says there’s a few upgrades available if I’m interested, but the ship handles beautifully already.”

“You miss it?”

Sulu gave him a look.  “Maybe not as much as you.”

“Teaching the next generation isn’t quite the same.  Maybe we can impart some kind of wisdom.” Jim ignored the voice in his head telling him at twenty-six going on twenty-seven he didn’t have much wisdom to share. “I just know where I’d rather be. Doesn’t feel right teaching when I’m only a year out of school myself.”

“It won’t be much longer,” Sulu said.  “And you’re right.  Teaching’s good, but it’s not what I want to do… especially if I have to deal with more allergies.  I’m a helmsman, not a doctor.  I didn’t know Tellarites could turn that color.”

“Was he okay?” Jim asked.

“Sure,” Sulu said. “Traumatised for life and probably switching tracks for something less likely to kill him, but he’ll live.”

“Then it’s all good,” Jim said, eyes on the view outside.  He’d take his cadets having allergic reactions over possibly being murdered any day.

***

Returning to the _Enterprise,_ even when she was covered in construction equipment and stuck on the ground, felt like coming home.  Leaving Sulu to head off to the bridge, Jim went off in search of Scotty and found him, with Chekov, in the mess hall.

“Keptin!” Chekov leapt from his chair, curls bouncing, smile bright.  “It is good to see you!”

The young man’s enthusiasm proved highly contagious, turning Jim’s mind away from the trouble he’d left behind in San Francisco and locking it firmly onto his ship.

“Hope you’re up for a hike, Jim,” Scotty said.  “We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

Sliding his bag over his shoulder, Jim nodded.  “Let’s go.”

Armed with his PADD, Jim kept pace with Scotty and Chekov, listening intently to their excited babble. Interjecting occasionally, Jim scribbled notes regarding the repairs and, more importantly, the modifications he knew needed implementing. New failsafes for the warp core, better emergency bulkheads, stronger shields... His crew would have the best Starfleet had to offer, even if he, Scotty and Chekov and the entire engineering department had to invent and build it themselves. 

His mind turned back to his thesis he’d started in his final year at the Academy, the one he’d never had a chance to finish.  He’d proved his theory beyond a doubt: captains needed to know every last detail of their ship if they expected to protect their crew.  Maybe he’d have a chance to write it before the _Enterprise_ was ready to launch.  Maybe he could force yet another realisation upon Starfleet.  Complacency killed.  Captains needed to know everything, especially the ins and outs of their own ship.  Smarten up or watch the next Marcus and Khan destroy everything.

Jim noted how their walk neatly avoided the core itself, and as grateful as he was to know Scotty and Chekov wanted to spare him the bad experience, he'd forced himself to confront that part of his ship already.  Not that he was in any rush to spend more time where he’d died.  But he wouldn’t allow the core to hold some sort of nightmarish power over him.

They returned to the mess hall for dinner, sitting at a large table so they had space to spread out various PAADs and projectors in order to go over blueprints and notes.  Sulu returned as well, bringing his own observations concerning the possible helm upgrades.  Jim basked in the moment, enjoying the buzz of conversation around him.

The _Enterprise_ was home, and he couldn’t wait to be back out there, seeing all he could squeeze into his lifetime.  His _second_ lifetime.  Would he ever be able to thank his crew enough for saving him?

He would use his time on Earth to get Starfleet back on the right path, but the real work, his proper job, was out there in space.  Someone had to show the rest of the galaxy what Starfleet really did, what the Federation stood for.  He couldn’t leave distant worlds thinking the Federation was some sort of warmongering empire.  He had to get back out there and show them –

“Wow, sir, what did the fork ever do to you?”

Startled by Sulu’s voice, Jim looked down and saw a bent fork in his grip.  Laughing nervously, he put it down.  “Sorry, I was thinking.”

“You do that kind of thinking often, Jim?” Scotty asked.

“No.” Jim picked the fork up and bent it back into shape.  “Usually I jog, but something tells me Bones will find out, chase me down and jab me with something to cure overexertion, Christmastime or not.”

The others laughed.  Jim smiled too, hoping it didn’t look as nervous as he felt.  Breaking things in the cabin, bending forks… what the hell was wrong with him?

They had just finished their meal when a flustered engineer came sprinting in.  She went straight to Scotty.  “Sorry, sir,” she said, sweeping her short blond hair behind her ear and leaving it threaded with oil.  “Need a hand in main engineering.  One of the catwalks has come loose in the cooling tower network and we’ve got people stuck up there.  We need a few extra hands to make it stable.”

“I swear, every time I turn my back, something happens,” Scott moaned, although he didn’t look particularly bothered.  Pushing his tray away, he stood.  “I’ll be back.”

“I’ll come,” Jim said, standing.  “Maybe I’ll even come in useful.”

“We’ll all come,” Sulu said.

“Yes, we can all provide extra hands!” Chekov said delightedly.

They headed back to main engineering, talking quietly.  Jim let the sound of conversation wash over him as they went past areas of the ship entirely ripped out, Iowa’s wintry winds whistling through the scaffolding like some wild beast of legend.  Scotty whistled appreciatively at the chill, but Jim barely noticed it.  He felt warm inside, like a fever, but he didn’t feel sick.  He felt…

They’d just stepped into engineering’s large cooling network when metal screeched over metal.  Astonishingly, a shout sounded out even louder, a panicked and terrified sound, the sound of someone who knew they wouldn't be walking away from what was about to happen.

“Shit!” Scotty shouted, looking up in utter horror.

Jim looked just as an engineer fell from the catwalk.

The warmth inside flared.  Thoughts faded as instinct took hold. Jim moved. Three rapid steps followed by one jump.

One fucking huge jump.

He didn't collide with the engineer; Jim caught him before he could fall into the ship’s bowels. Landing heavily but perfectly, Jim stared at the large man in his arms. It was impossible to tell who was more surprised.

"Th-thanks, Captain," the engineer said.

"Ah, yeah, sure..."

"You can put me down now."

"Oh!"

He placed the man on his feet. The engineer tottered to a nearby chair and sat down. Jim remained standing only because he couldn't move.

How? How had he...

Everybody stared, many of them open-mouthed.  Scotty looked flabbergasted, Chekov stunned and Sulu amazed.  Jim didn’t want to look at any of them.

Scotty shooed everyone back to work, taking care to get a team busy securing the walkway. He found someone to escort the rescued engineer to the medbay and finally turned to Jim. "D'you think we need to be worried you can do what you just did?"

Jim swallowed, the heat still bubbling inside him.  "Probably."

"We should get you back to the doc," Sulu said.

He didn’t feel sick.  He felt… he was…

Better.

"Bones,” Jim said.  “Definitely." And maybe Spock, too, in case this ended really badly…

The strength… It wasn’t his.  It was… it was in the blood…

_Khan’s_ …

Scotty placed a hand on Jim's shoulder. "Let's -"

Jim jolted. "Don't touch me!"

He shoved Scotty back, too hard, and the older man hit the deck hard, his lungs emptying with a startled gasp. 

Horrified, Jim crouched at Scotty's side. "Are you okay?"

"Just let me get my breath back," Scotty wheezed. "Don't know your own strength, do you?"

"I'm... I don't know what's happening..." The jump had triggered something.  All those little accidents… They’d led to this. Maybe he’d kept it at bay somehow… but that one jolt of adrenaline undid it.  Everything seemed brighter, louder, clearer. Noise filled his ears, voices and tools and the ship's hum; he couldn't shut it out. His head rang with the sound of life.

But that wasn't the only thing. He knew the distances he could jump, how hard and how insanely far he could run before he collapsed, the force he would have to exert to bend metal or snap a tap handle... He just knew... He was...

He was better.

At everything.

"Keptin?" Chekov’s tentative voice blared in Jim’s sensitive ears.  “How can we help?”

Jim said nothing.  He ran. He jumped down from the walkway to engineering's lowest deck and sprinted for the nearest exit. He found an airlock currently used as an entrance and burst into open air. A massive floodlight dazzled him, his senses overloaded. It was too bright, too hot. He felt wrong...

And yet he was so _strong._

Jim jumped. It was twenty meters to the closest section of scaffolding, but he barely noticed he impact. Two jumps later, he was on the ground.

He heard voices calling after him, but he ignored them. He raced across the shadow of the _Enterprise_ , leapt over the perimeter fence, and kept going. A distant voice in his mind alerted him that he was panicking, but the part of him screaming to get away was in charge.

Feet pounding, body relishing the exercise, Jim ran all the way to the canyon. Standing on the edge, not even slightly out of breath, he stared down into the depths.

…What if…

He acted before the mad idea finished processing. Enhanced sight picked out a path... albeit a path he had to jump down. Darkness embraced him as he went further and further down, away from the moonlight.

With frightening ease he calculated where he needed to go and five minutes later he saw it. Wrecked and rusted, he recognised it nonetheless.

Dad's car.

He hadn't seen it since the day he'd sent it crashing down here. No one had ever bothered to retrieve it. Complex emotions rushed through him: pride, amazement, disbelief, relief he hadn't died, fear that he'd come so close.

A sound bubbled out of him; not quite a laugh, but not a sob either.

What had he become? Power coiled deep within him. Worse, far, far worse, were the thoughts scrabbling for attention.

The things he could do. The power he had to make it happen.

Make it better. Make everything better. Find the bastards who’d attacked him and his friends, fix Starfleet, fix the _Enterprise_ , fix every problem...

How would anyone stop him?

Something scuffed the ground.  He held his breath.  He could hear it, hear _them,_ closing in.  Someone had followed him, but it wouldn’t be Starfleet…

At least not a branch of Starfleet anyone openly admitted to belonging to, not anymore.

Standard pincer movement, footsteps light, but not light enough. A grin tugged his lips. Did these people think they could stop him?

Taking a slow, deep breath, Jim stood loosely, projecting an air of unawareness. Let them come. Let them learn exactly what he could do.

A deep voice echoed off the canyon walls.  "Come with us, Kirk, before this gets any worse."

Eyes up, Jim counted four, but he could hear the fifth hanging back, a sniper ready to fire if backup was required. The four he could see were clad in camouflage, heavily armed and ready for a fight.

Good. Taking them out would be fun.

“How did you find me?” Jim enquired coldly.

“We’ve been keeping an eye on you since the moment you came back from the dead,” said the same voice.  “We knew this day would come.”

Still loose, still looking harmless, Jim gave an icy smile.  "And where would you like to take me?"

"You don't need to know." The man in charge waved his phaser slightly. "You gonna come nicely, or does this have to get messy?"

"Messy," Jim said. "Definitely messy."

The man didn't stand a chance. Jim moved in a single, sweeping slide, his fist obliterating the man's nose and probably a large chunk of his skull. He collapsed with a bloody gurgle.

Shock and horror registered dimly in Jim's mind, but the rush of tightly controlled adrenaline drowned them out.

The other three fell just as fast, although one got a lucky shot off. Not that the stun stopped Jim. It barely slowed him as his foot slammed into the woman's chest and snapped ribs.

Four down; only the sniper remained.

"Stand down, Captain," called a calm female voice. "Our orders are to bring you in alive, but no-one said you had to be in one piece."

Jim held out his arms. "Do your worst."

He heard the whine as the sniper rifle charged. The woman took a breath, held it, stroked the trigger...

Fired.

Jim sidestepped and the shot missed. The sniper swore, but it was her last mistake. Jim leapt up to the outcrop the woman crouched on in a single leap. As he descended, Jim's fist lashed out. A single punch knocked the sniper out.  Picking up her weapon, Jim dismantled it in ten seconds, lobbing several key pieces in different directions with all of his extremely enhanced strength.

With the team dealt with, Jim dug through their gear for some clue as to who they were. He found a heavily encrypted PADD on the leader, but that was it. No ID, nothing. Ghosts, all of them, until he decrypted the PADD.

As the adrenaline faded, so too did his urgency. Sickness settled firmly in his gut as he looked at the carnage he had caused. In that instant, his pride and determination faltered, beaten back by a wave of self-hatred.

He'd become a monster.

Jim vomited.  Head buzzing, knees weak, he clung to the canyon wall to keep himself upright.  The sensible thing would be to find Bones and have his friend lock him down.

Or he could access the PADD, work out who he was dealing with, and take out the threat.

At war with himself, Jim couldn't make a decision. Two natures clashed within him, both at total odds with each other. One wanted to seek help. The other knew he was too good for _help_.

He broke the PADD's encryption in under a minute. The people after him went to great lengths to keep themselves hidden. No references to Section 31 cropped up as Jim read file after file, much of it pertaining to him, his career, his brief death and subsequent recovery. Who the fuck had leaked this stuff to these people? His grip on the PADD grew so tight he cracked the casing. Whoever had blurted these secrets, whoever had betrayed his trust and endangered his crew, they would be made to pay.

They'd picked the wrong man to mess with.

At last, in the final file, Jim found one word, one location he recognised. 

Of course.

Nevada.

Whoever was waiting for him wasn’t going to get what they wanted when he broke down the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. I've been a bit under the weather. Ick. Hope this makes sense ^^; I'll do my best to post faster next time.

Standing at the bottom of the canyon, Jim stared up at the moon. Something in his head didn't feel right. It wasn't pain he felt, at least not a physical one. Something tore at him, separating the part of him gunning for revenge from the part of him he knew something was deeply and terribly wrong.

 

The vengeful side of him was so much louder. He couldn't hold out. One thought consumed him.

 

Get to Nevada.

 

His assailants had been kind enough to leave a sleek, all terrain ground car at the canyon's edge. After climbing up the cliff, the task incredibly, _inhumanly_ , easy, Jim saw the vehicle and took it with glee. A familiar rush swept over him. Maybe he'd been a genius level repeat offender, but, occasionally, he'd loved the adrenaline and high that came with breaking the law. And this time, stealing the vehicle felt entirely justified.

 

As he slid into the driver's seat, his communicator buzzed. He glanced at it. Which member of his crew would be calling? He could imagine their intentions only too well. He couldn't allow them to stop him. He couldn't allow their fear of him to dictate their actions.

 

His own fear and revulsion remained crushed and ignored... For now. He dared not focus on what he'd done and how he had the strength to do it. He had no idea how long the split within himself would hold, how long the _better_ part of him would remain in control...

 

...Or submerged. Depended on the definition of better.

 

Jim knew he needed to go back to the dockyard and have someone lock him down until Bones came and fixed...

 

Rage flared. It burned in his chest, engulfing his doubt. He didn't need _fixing_. This was better. Strength to stop traitors and cowards. Strength to show others the right way of doing things. Strength to overcome anything anyone tried to do to stop him.

 

His communicator chimed again. Idiots! Didn't they want things to get better? Were they happy being the pawns of people like Marcus?

 

Chucking his communicator out the window, ignoring the voice begging him to stop before he did something truly awful, Jim activated the engine and drove. He knew he wouldn't need to stop and sleep.

 

Hours wore by, his attention holding firm… until he crossed into Nebraska. A wave of exhaustion crashed over him. The car skidded across the road, beeps sounding out from a vehicle going the opposite way. Jim wrestled the car back under control, but it soon drifted again. Strength fled him.  Deep exhaustion took hold.  His hands slipped from the steering wheel, thudding limply into his lap. His body tilted forward, but his foot pressed down on the accelerator. He vaguely heard the computer alert him to his dangerous driving. His eyes slammed shut and the world faded to silent darkness.

 

***

 

Nyota said nothing as she surveyed the scene.  Spock scanned everything with a tricorder, but Nyota knew her eyes told her all she needed to know.

 

Jim had been here.  He’d been here, and, using strength he shouldn’t possess, had torn through these people.  Only one still lived, and the medical team hadn’t been hopeful as they’d taken him away.  Why had he done it? _How_? And why wasn’t he responding to anyone’s calls? He had to know they’d only want to help.

 

He wasn’t in his right mind, Nyota could see that clearly. And that made it even more important they find him before anything worse happened.

 

She ignored the voice in her head whispering _worse how?_

Spock finished his scan and turned to her just as Scotty came running over to them.  “I heard you were here,” he said, hands on knees as he caught his breath.  “How can I help?”

 

“There is little you can do,” Spock said.  “The Captain is gone.”

 

Scotty ran a hand over his head.  “I am telling you, he had no idea what was happening.  He just reacted and saved the engineer.  He was as amazed as anyone.  And then…” Scotty shrugged.  “He ran.”

 

“I know, I have seen the security camera footage,” Spock said.  “After he left the _Enterprise_ , the Captain came here where these people attempted to ambush him,” Spock said, looking past the bodies to the old car.  “Perhaps this is a place of some emotional significance to the Captain.”

 

“Leonard might know,” Nyota said. 

 

“We’re gonna need his help,” Scotty said.  “Whatever’s wrong with Jim, the doctor’s his best hope to set it right.”

 

“I will find Doctor McCoy,” Spock said.  “Meanwhile, it would be best if you return to the ship, Mr Scott.  You can use the computer to analyse my scan results.” 

 

“What are you looking for?” Scotty asked, accepting Spock’s tricorder.

 

“Anything that could give us a clue as to what transpired here,” Spock said.  “There may be a link to the break-ins.”

 

Scotty swore.  “What the hell is going on here?”

 

“I do not know, therefore we should all be cautious,” Spock said.

 

“Nobody go off alone,” Scotty translated.

 

“Indeed,” Spock said.  “I will be careful on my journey to Georgia.”

 

“I’ll help you, Monty,” Nyota said.  She looked at Spock.  “Stay in touch.”

 

Without another word, they went their separate ways.  Nyota crushed her doubts and nerves.  Whatever this was, whatever was happening, whoever had targeted them, they wouldn’t be beaten.

 

***

 

Leonard knew it was serious when he opened his aunt's front door and saw Spock standing in front of him. "What happened to Jim?"

 

Noting the curious looks from the people gathered behind Leonard, Spock stepped aside. "We need to speak in private."

 

Stepping onto the porch and closing the door to ward off the nosier members of the McCoy family, Leonard frowned as Spock handed him a PADD displaying a paused video.

 

"Watch it," Spock said.

 

Leonard did so, and ten seconds later his back hit the house as his legs gave out beneath him. "How?" He asked helplessly. "That shouldn't have happened. I didn't augment Jim's genes. Blood alone shouldn't..." He ran a hand over his face. "I ran so many tests, Spock. I thought..."

 

"There are a number of possibilities, Doctor, none of which any of us foresaw and speculation now would be -"

 

"Illogical, I know." Leonard got to his feet. "All right, first we gotta find him and then we've gotta convince him to stand down."

 

"Given the attack Jim carried out against the people sent to capture him, I believe it would be wise to expect resistance."

 

“Did he kill anyone?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Swallowing thickly, hands squeezing into fists, Leonard crushed the nausea swirling in his gut and focused on the important details.  "You really think he’ll resist us?"

 

"Yes."

 

Leonard laughed mirthlessly. "For once I'm glad you're so straight-talking."

 

"I will endeavour to locate Jim," Spock said. "Nyota and Mr Scott are currently examining a set of scans I ran where Jim was ambushed.  If any of the evidence suggests a location, I will meet Jim there."

 

Leonard cocked an eyebrow. "Meet him or capture him?"

 

Spock returned the eyebrow. "That remains to be seen."

 

"I need to head to Starfleet Medical and review everything." Leonard knew he needed to look into what details he could uncover regarding the original augment experiments. Somehow he doubted the centuries had been gentle on the documents he'd need.  Where could he even start?

 

"I will contact you as soon as we have Jim," Spock said.

 

"Right." Leonard rubbed a hand over his face. "We have to fix this. I have to fix it."

 

"Jim would not want you to blame yourself," Spock said.

 

"Let's just focus on getting him back. The rest of the blame can be assigned later." Leonard turned back to the family house. "Give me five minutes."

 

Spock waited at the groundcar he'd borrowed from a local Starfleet base. True to his word, Leonard joined him within five minutes. Neither man spoke as they left Leonard's family behind.

 

***

 

Voices washed in and out of Jim's consciousness. None of them sounded like they were talking to him. As he regained his senses in record time, things started to make better sense.

 

People, a man and a woman, were arguing.

 

About him.

 

About... About what to do with him.

 

The man's voice boomed out authoritatively. "He's clearly injured and needs to be in hospital! Not to mention he's a Starfleet Captain. _The_ Starfleet Captain, if his reputation's anything to go by."

 

"He's also severely mentally ill and needs to be returned to my custody," replied the equally stern-sounding woman.

 

"I can't let you take him while he's injured and unconscious!"

 

"You can and will. He's under Starfleet's jurisdiction."

 

Jim opened his eyes, shielding them from the blinding sunlight. He took a deep breath, feeling better already. Aches diminished, pain faded. He was astonished to find himself in a tangled wreck of a groundcar.

 

Memories returned in an instant. The sudden crushing exhaustion, the darkness... He must've passed out, lost control of the vehicle and crashed.

 

That strength and the weird internal bubbling that came with it had definitely returned. Teeth clenched, Jim pushed at the metal bent around him. It gave enough for him to slide out. Shade fell over him. He'd wrapped the car around a tree. He was lucky to still be alive...

 

"Captain Kirk, stand down!" The woman yelled, aiming a phaser at him. She wore a plain black suit and her brown hair had been swept back in a tight bun. Darkly serious brown eyes stared him down. "Come with me or I will shoot."

 

Jim smirked. Shoot someone who'd climbed out of a crashed car? No way was she Starfleet. Even the policeman stared at her in disbelief. She side-eyed the officer, unconsciously telegraphing her intent.

 

Jim ran. He reached the officer in time to shove him out of the path of a killshot. "Run," he ordered the shocked man. "Leave her to me."

 

The woman fired again at the officer, but this time Jim was there to rip the phaser from her hands and toss it away. He grabbed her, pinning her against his body.

 

It wouldn't take much effort for him to break her neck...

 

...Or crush her skull...

 

_Shit._

 

"You need to come with me," the woman gasped. "We can help you. The enhancements aren't stable yet. The blackouts will only get worse. We can make your strength and agility permanent."

 

"I don't need any kind of help you're offering," Jim hissed.

 

"Not even for the sake of your friends? For the sake of our planet's future?"

 

"Not even then." Jim rendered her unconscious with a chokehold. He dumped her on the ground and walked away.

 

Bypassing the police officer who had returned from his hiding place, Jim went to the plain white groundcar parked alongside his trashed vehicle. Sliding behind the wheel, he pressed the switch to activate the engine. The navigation system activated, and a quick flick through everything revealed something very helpful.

 

A return journey to somewhere in Nevada.

 

Steering around the wreckage, ignoring the shouting cop, Jim continued on his way to Nevada. He had no idea how long he could go without passing out again. Time-wasting was not an option, and he had three states to cross.

 

Jim put his foot down and didn’t look back.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone :D

He came to in darkness. Chilled night air coiled around his limbs. He was in the middle of a parking lot, weak streetlighting shining over him. No one was around him. Sitting up slowly, his head spinning sickly, Jim's memory returned steadily. Having crossed into Nevada in the late afternoon after driving non-stop, he'd pulled into a rest stop to make a vending machine dive. Instead he'd blacked out. That was the third time, and although he awoke and regained his enhanced abilities within minutes, the blackouts were lasting longer. All that lost time meant anyone pursuing him had ample opportunity to catch up with him.

 

And someone had caught up. He could hear their footsteps as they approached. He held himself still, limbs deceptively loose, face bearing a bemused expression.

 

"E-excuse me?" Came a nervous voice. Young. Male. Human. Jim could smell his overpowering cologne. "Are you alright? Do you need any help?"

 

"I'm not feeling so great," Jim said, adding a slur to his words.

 

"Yeah, you don't look too good."

 

Jim watched the man step out of the shadows. Was man even the right word? The kid looked younger than Chekov.  Still, that didn’t mean he wasn’t working for the enemy. "I just need some help getting back to my car." Jim waved vaguely in its direction.

 

"I don't think you should be driving," the kid said.

 

Putting on a show of staggering to his feet, Jim forced the kid to rush to his side. "You should be in the hospital or something," he told Jim.

 

The kid didn't know what hit him. Jim grabbed his arm, twisted it behind his back and pinned him in place. Gasping in shock and pain, the kid tried and failed to cry out.  Jim applied enough pressure to ensure maximum discomfort.

 

"How many more of you are there?" Jim demanded.

 

"Wh-what?"

 

"There's no way you'd be stupid enough to come alone."

 

"But... I'm... I just..."

 

Jim increased the pressure on the kid's arm, eliciting a sharp cry of pain. "You know, if you'd just asked nicely, I might've come with you. You and the people you work for didn't have to trash my home or come after my friends."

 

"What are you talking about?" The boy wailed.

 

"And you killed a young man and made it look like suicide, why?"

 

Unthinkingly, Jim pushed the kid’s arm slightly further.  A sickening pop sounded and the kid screamed as his shoulder dislocated.

 

Breathing harshly, the kid begged loudly.  "Please, just let me go. I just want to get home. I don't know anything!"

 

"Let you go? No. You can take me where I need to go or you can die."

 

The kid dissolved into noisy sobs. "But... But I'm... I..."

 

A stark odour hit the air. Jim looked and saw the young man had soiled himself. Disgusted, Jim shoved the kid away. The boy hit the ground heavily and didn't get up. He trembled and wept on the ground.

 

Jim's disgust was not aimed at the kid.  Ignoring the trembling figure on the ground, Jim stared at his hands.  What the hell was the matter with him? The kid’s sobs filled the air.  Jim reached for him, but the wounded young man flinched away.  Backing away, Jim left the kid in a heap, unable to tear his gaze away.

 

Whatever was turning him into this monster, he had to stop it... He had to...

 

Help. He needed help.  He needed Bones to tell him to stop being an infant and Spock to make everything clear with his logic and Nyota to be her caring self and...

 

No. No, dammit, he couldn't be so weak.  He had made it to Nevada on his own.  All he had to do was reach the place on the GPS and…

 

“Perhaps it’s time to end this.”

 

A new figure stepped out of the restrooms.  Impressively tall and extremely thin, the woman folded her long arms across her chest and gazed at him with piercing grey eyes.  Jim noted the pair of phasers resting on her hips. She smiled at him, a surprisingly friendly expression.

 

“Captain Kirk, while I’m sure you had your reasons for failing to disable the tracking device in the ground car you stole, perhaps it’s time we simply brought you in rather than have you smash down our front door.”

 

Jim shrugged, hoping it covered his embarrassment.  How the hell had he not removed the tracker? He hadn’t even stopped to think about it.  What was wrong with him? How had he been so careless? He projected as much bravado as he could summon.  “Why disable it when I can stop anyone who gets in my way?” He looked at the kid.  “I wasn’t even trying with him.”

 

She chuckled, genuinely amused.  “That’s true, but how many blackouts have you had now? Two? Three? They won’t go away, and if you think your partially enhanced strength will somehow save you when you’re unconscious, you’ll be in for a rude awakening.”

 

“You know, I think I’d rather kick your door down than hitch a ride with you,” Jim replied.

 

“We aren’t your enemy.  We are your allies.  We can help you, and you can help us, your crew, and your entire world.”

 

“I’m not interested in working with people who murder kids and make it look like suicide.”

 

The woman’s face morphed into a look of regret.  “Ah, yes, poor Cadet Travis.  Much like the attack you suffered, it was a few agents acting rashly that led to his unjust killing.”

 

Jim schooled his anger as best he could.  “What would you like me to do?”

 

“What you’ve always done: protect our world from danger at all costs.”

 

“Your costs are too high.”

 

The woman fixed him with a harsh look.  “You’d rather blaze a trail of destruction across the world? Because that’s what’s going to happen when you really lose control.  The blackouts are one thing, Captain, but they are the tip of a very large iceberg.  I’m sure the internal disagreements have already begun.  Your inability to properly govern your reactions is only going to get worse.  You might think you’ve got it under control.  Well…” She chuckled despairingly as her eyes trailed over to the young man who had finally stopped crying but had yet to get up off the ground. He watched them both with wide eyes, his entire body trembling.  “I know everything about you, Kirk, even the things they really put some effort into covering up.  You don’t want to be a danger to others like that.  You don’t want to accidentally injure or kill innocents.  Come with me, and I promise that won’t happen.”

 

Jim laughed easily.  “You think you can just tell me what to do? I could rip your arms off if I wanted to.”

 

He took a step toward the woman.  She didn’t back up.  He moved closer. She never flinched. 

 

“Why won’t you do this the easy way?” she asked.

 

Jim clenched his teeth, bone grinding over bone before he spat out his thoughts.  “Because I’d rather tear through your hideout and make you pay for what you did.”

 

The faintest smile touched the woman’s lips.  “Fine.”

 

The first stun blast came from behind.  Two more hit him from the left and right.  He staggered, mind foggy but not yet overcome.  As he turned, he watched black-clad figures move out of the treeline. One took out the kid.  Jim staggered forwards, but another stun hit him from behind.  Still he refused to go down.

 

“You should know we have people on the _Enterprise_ at this very moment, keeping an eye on member s of your crew,” the woman called as Jim forced himself to face her once more.  She kept her weapon aimed at him, as did the others.  “My people are under orders to do whatever’s necessary to ensure your cooperation.  Right now, I have a man working in close proximity to your Commander Scott and Lieutenant Uhura.  If  you don’t come, I’m going to have them killed.  And then we’ll look for the half-Vulcan you call a first officer, and he’ll be killed too.  Your doctor friend, the pilot, the navigator.  Everyone and anyone. We don’t like to kill our own, but what you can provide is more than anything they have to offer.”

 

Jim frowned. “You’re not killing your own.  They are my crew, my friends.” His _family_.

 

“All humans are our own, Captain.”

 

And that was when he realised who they were. 

 

“You’re –”

 

The next barrage of stuns finally took him down.  As the darkness closed in, he watched through fading vision as a number of people closed in on him.  It was the woman who crouched down in front of him and it was her next order than followed him down into the darkness.

 

“Make sure his crew can’t find us.”

 

Black.

 

***

 

“I cannae find anything linking the attack in the canyon to what happened in San Francisco,” Scotty said, leaning back with a sigh.  He stared at the science station on the bridge, the results on screen all frustratingly negative.  “The people Jim ki… I mean… the captain’s attackers weren’t the ones who carried out the break-ins.  There’s no DNA to link them.”

 

Nyota leaned against the console, eyes on her PADD. “Compare it to this.” She handed the device over, the details of Cadet Travis’ autopsy and the evidence gathered from his dorm room on screen.  “The cause of death is listed as asphyxiation, but there were a few anomalies.”

 

“Ah, this isn’t really my thing, but I’ll run a comparison program…”

 

As Scotty worked, Nyota looked at the bridge.  There was a technician working at the helm, deeply engrossed in his work and apparently completely oblivious to their presence. His communicator beeped and he answered it, speaking softly.  Nyota walked to her station, running her hands over the currently deactivated system.  To think she could track signals across light-years but she couldn’t find Jim when they were on the same planet, hell, probably the same continent.  She ran her fingers over the switches and dials.  Maybe she could check transmissions going in and out of Nevada.  She’d be breaking countless laws, but they’d all been pulled into something larger than themselves.  Whoever had gone after Jim had much bigger goals than simple abduction.

 

Her communicator chimed suddenly, distracting her from her thoughts.  Flipping it open, she answered the call.

 

“ _Ah, Miss Uhura. It is Pavel.  Hikaru thought I should call and tell you to put on a newsfeed.”_

“Which one?”

 

He hesitated briefly and Nyota heard Sulu’s voice in the background..  “ _Any of them_.  _It’s on all of them_.”

Taking a seat in the captain’s chair, Nyota activated the viewscreen and accessed a news network.

 

_Terra Prime Makes Stunning Announcement At Press Conference¸_ declared the headline at the top of the screen. A woman, slim, grey-haired and middle-aged spoke with a melodic and passionate voice as she stared into the camera and declared Terra Prime intended to back Earth for humanity in the name of Admiral Alexander Marcus.

 

“Despite what the Federation and Starfleet may say, Admiral Marcus had only our best interests at heart.  He knew the danger other worlds present.  He was prepared.  He could have led us, but in his absence, Terra Prime offer to take his place.  We will protect you from outside threats, and we will put a stop to Starfleet’s in-fighting.”

 

“What the hell?” Scotty stood at Nyota’s side, frowning at the screen.

 

“If you care about humanity, if you care about the future of our world, join us.  Join Terra Prime.  Stand with us and stand proud for all of humanity.  It is time we put ourselves first.”

 

The newscasters returned and immediately launched into a heated discussion.  Nyota belatedly remembered she had an open communicator.  “Sorry, Pavel, I was distracted.”

 

“ _Don’t worry, it was distracting.  These people seem determined.  Do you really think people will join them? Hikaru seems to think not, but I am not so sure.”_

“I don’t know,” Nyota replied honestly.  She didn’t understand why Terra Prime were taking such a public stand after decades of being little more than a fringe group largely ignored by all the major media outlets.  “Why now?” she asked aloud.

 

“Ah, forget it,” Scotty said, turning back to the science station.  “The crazies always come out when bad things happen.  It’ll blow over.  These things always do.  People are just… Holy shit.”

 

“What?” Nyota’s head whipped around to face Scotty who stood, open-mouthed, at the science station.

 

“There’s a match.  In the DNA evidence.  There’s a –”

 

“Stand down.”

 

The technician at the helm stood up, turning to face them.  He held a phaser in his hand. “Terra Prime stands ready,” he said.  His weapon flipped from stun to kill.

 

Scotty held out a hand.  “Now, wait a minute there.  We –”

 

A warning shot hit the deck inches from Scotty’s boot.

 

Nyota stood up slowly, keeping herself loose, ensuring she didn’t look threatening.  She could hear Chekov’s voice coming from her communicator, but she didn’t answer it.  “Tell us what you want.”

 

“I have my orders.” The phaser in his hand trembled slightly.  “Toss me the communicator, now!”

 

Uhura did so, wincing as the man stomped on it, crushing it. “Are you sure this is what you want to do?” She asked.  He was an older man, his skin a deep brown, but the weight of anxiety added decades to his lined and sickly pale face.  She pushed a little more.  “There must be another way.”

 

“Shut up!” He aimed the phaser squarely at Nyota’s head.  He raised his communicator to his lips.  “I have the chief engineer and the head of communications.  What are your orders?” He paused briefly, listening intently.  “Understood.”

 

He reached into his kitbag tucked beneath the helm and pulled out two sets of cuffs.  “Put them on, both of you,” he commanded, tossing the cuffs at them.  “And don’t try anything. I will kill you.”

 

Nyota wasn’t so sure about that, but she moved carefully, plucking the cuffs off the ground. She met Scotty’s eyes, nodding carefully.  They both knew better than to do something rash, but they also knew doing nothing was not an option. 

 

Once they were cuffed, they were taken to the captain’s ready room.  After ordering them to sit, the technician sealed the door, communicator held to his ear and phaser still pointed at Nyota and Scotty.

 

“Alright,” the technician said.  “I’ll set up the feed now.”

 

Nyota watched as the technician set up a PADD, the camera lodged in the back lined up with them.  A red light indicated it was filming and transmitting.  Was this something to do with Terra Prime, too?

 

The technician confirmed it when he spoke.  “Negotiations between Terra Prime and your captain will commence shortly.  Your fate depends on the outcome of that discussion.”

 

“Sounds a little extreme,” Scotty commented, sounding remarkably chipper.

 

The technician locked eyes with Scotty.  “We learned a long time ago extreme methods are often the only way things get done.” His gaze flicked to Nyota.  “You had best hope your captain makes the right choices, otherwise you’ll be paying the price.”

 

***

 

Leonard stared at the screen, the words no longer making sense. He rubbed his weary eyes, reached for his coffee and nearly gagged as he forced the cold mouthful down.  How long had he and Spock been tucked away in this tiny, out of the way office in Starfleet Medical?

 

Nothing.  That’s what hours of research had turned up.  Nothing in his original serum could’ve led to Jim’s newfound abilities and abso-fucking-lutely nothing had survived the centuries regarding Khan and his merry band of genetically enhanced humans.

 

“Perhaps we are approaching the problem from the incorrect perspective,” Spock said.

 

Leonard was too tired to properly snipe at him.  “Elaborate, please,” he said, forcing himself to his feet and stretching the stiffness out of his limbs.

 

“As we have both failed to procure information from our current lines of enquiry, perhaps we should start with the true source of the issue,” Spock said.

 

“Which is?” Leonard asked.

 

“Jim.”

 

“Dammit, man, talk straight!”

 

“I thought I was.”  
  
“Spock, so help me, I’ll –”

 

“During his recent admittance to hospital, blood tests and other exams would have been carried out.  Perhaps there was anomaly in them, previously dismissed, that may now shed some light.”

 

A spark of hope flared in Leonard’s chest.  The cynical side of him quietly reminded him knowing what the problem was didn’t equal a cure, but they’d be closer than they were before.  “I’ll pull up his medical records.”

 

Bending over the computer, logging into the patient records system, Leonard quickly located Jim’s, and just as quickly hit a roadblock.

 

“It’s gone.” He looked up at Spock.  “The report.  It’s been wiped.”

 

“If I may?”

 

Leonard stepped aside to give Spock access to the terminal.  “What the hell is going on here?”

 

Spock worked steadily, digging through codes Leonard couldn’t hope to understand.  “From what little I can surmise, it would appear someone is aware of the truth regarding Jim’s survival and intends to make use of his abilities.”

 

Moving to the window, Leonard stared out at the foggy view beyond.  San Francisco, even with a chunk of its skyline still missing, never really changed.  “That doesn’t make sense. He didn’t have any abilities until all this shit went down.” It hit him like a gut punch.  “What if they did it to him? The people who attacked him.  What if they somehow triggered this?”

 

“It is a distinct possibility,” Spock said.  “Made all the more likely given the methodical and elaborate removal of the details from Jim’s medical file.”

 

Before Leonard could respond, his communicator chirped.  “Yeah?”

 

“ _Doctor, it’s Sulu.  I think we have a problem.  Another one.”_

“What is it?”

 

“ _Uhura and Scotty are in trouble.  They’re aboard the_ Enterprise _and I think someone’s taken them hostage_.  _I have a feeling it’s Terra Prime._ ”

 

“Terra Prime?” Spock asked, a frown tugging at his eyebrows.

 

“ _Haven’t you seen the newsfeeds? They’ve gone public, talking about making a stand for the sake of Earth_.”

 

“This just gets better and better,” Leonard muttered.

 

“Alert the shipyard security team,” Spock said.  “Ensure they are aware –”

 

The office door slammed open.  Leonard caught sight of two figures, faces obscured by surgical masks, bursting in. 

 

He didn’t have time to register the phaser before the stun blast hit him full in the chest.

 

***

 

When Jim came to, he found himself on the floor of a dank cell.  He took a deep breath of damp air. He felt strange, almost seasick.  Rolling his head to the side, he saw himself reflected on a thick glass partition sealing him in.  No one waited on the other side, although a single lamp shone at an empty desk.  As he sat up, he became aware of painful aches in both of his elbows.  Looking down, he saw the tell-tale marks of hypos, although as he watched they faded until they were little more than red specks.  Blood tests, most likely.  What did they want?

 

Jim stood up and went to the glass.  He placed his hand on the cool glass, gathered his strength and hit hard.

 

It didn’t break and, thankfully, neither did his hand. 

 

“ _Even_ _you won’t be able to break through, Captain_.” It was the woman’s voice, coming from a speaker bolted to the ceiling.  “ _We made sure we were ready for you._ ”

 

“What do you want?” Jim asked.

 

“ _Your cooperation._ ”

 

“Or?”

 

A bright light lit up the cell as a wall slid away and four huge screens appeared.  Two showed images of his senior crew.  On one, Uhura and Scotty sat in handcuffs.  On the other, Bones and Spock were unconscious on the ground. 

 

“ _We’re on our way to your Lieutenant Sulu and Ensign Chekov.  Doctor Marcus will remain unharmed, due to her father’s legacy.  I’m going to give you some time to think very, very hard about the offer I’m going to make you, because if you turn me down, these people will be the first to suffer.”_

Jim spat out his words. “Make your offer.”

 

“ _Join Terra Prime, protect your planet and help us create more soldiers like you.  Make us ready to fight off all and any alien incursions.  Otherwise, prepare to lose everyone you care about.  And don’t think for a moment we can’t reach your mother as well._ ”

 

Another screen activated, showing his mother hard at work in the engineering department of her ship.  Someone was out there, working for Terra Prime, spying on his mother and, worst of all, prepared to murder her in cold blood.

 

Fuckers.  He’d tear every single one of them apart.

 

“ _I’ll give you one hour to decide.  I certainly hope you make the right choice.  I’m sure your mother and crew want that, too._ ”

 

Jim punched the glass again.  It didn’t so much as crack.

 

“Shit!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you all in the New Year ^_^


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...okay, when I said "See you next year" at the end of the last chapter, I didn't mean to make you all wait until now. I am *so* sorry for not posting sooner. The muse fell silent...
> 
> ...until I went to see Star Trek Live in Concert last week at the Royal Albert Hall. Now I just have ALL THE FEELS again!
> 
> I promise I will finish this story. Writing it again made me realise how much I've missed these characters. I AM BACK! :D

"They will be coming for us next, yes?" Chekov asked as Sulu handed him a phaser. 

"Definitely," Sulu said, taking his favourite folding sword from his collection. "But if we're the last ones standing, it's up to us to rescue the others."

Closing his small weapon collection cabinet, Sulu turned to Chekov. The young man looked anxious, but he went through the weapon checks and locked it to stun. He held it ready.

"Never a dull moment with Captain Kirk," Sulu said lightly, flicking the switch so his sword took its full form. "You think the guy would want to take it easier."

"I do not think he knows how," Chekov said. He smiled nervously. "Do you think it will be long before -"

Someone pounded on the door. "Security, open up!"

Sulu and Chekov shared a look. Chekov's lips quirked, forming a nervous grin. Sulu motioned for him to step back and stand ready.

"I'm coming, sir!" Sulu called as Chekov aimed his weapon at the door.

Stepping to one side, Sulu nodded to Chekov, received a nod in return, and opened the door. It slid aside and a slim man barrelled in. Chekov didn't waste any time: a single stun blast took him down.

Unfortunately for Chekov, the second person, a woman this time, wasn't so hasty. A stun blast knocked Chekov to the ground. The woman entered.

And found herself at the sharp end of Sulu's sword. He hit the switch and the door closed and sealed itself.

"Weapon on the ground," Sulu commanded.

The woman wisely did as ordered. "I won't talk."

"Of course you won't." Using the tip of his sword, Sulu dragged the phaser toward him then flipped it into the air. Deftly catching it, he didn't hesitate to stun the woman.

Sulu checked Chekov and assured himself his friend was relatively unharmed. After putting him in the recovery position, Sulu set about digging through their attackers' belongings. Both were armed and carried cable ties. Clearly they'd come prepared to stun and drag away. Unfortunately for them, they were now on the receiving end. Sulu secured the pair by the ankles and wrists then pulled out his communicator. After a call to the real Starfleet Security, he called the only person he could think of.

"Doctor Marcus, it's Hikaru Sulu. I need your help."

***

Jim stared at the images of his crew as the woman he’d encountered in the rest area entered the room. She walked up and casually leaned against the glass partition. "In case you haven't worked it out, I'm going to ask you to do a few things and if you decline, your crew will suffer."

His blood boiled, his muscles tensing. Did they really think this cage would be enough for him?

"We’ll start with the basics. Give us some blood samples and your crew will remain unharmed."

“No.” His body ached to move, but he held himself still. He didn’t want to give anything away, not yet.

“Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot,” the woman said, ignoring Jim’s snort of disbelieving laughter. “My name is Edna Yates, and there is nothing I want to do more than protect the human race. With your help, we can do that. We can make our people, our planet, stronger than ever.”

“Do you have any idea what it’s like?” Jim demanded. “You see me as a weapon. I see myself as a danger. An angry, unhinged, will rip your fucking arms off and shatter your skull with them, monster.” He couldn’t keep track of his own feelings. He cycled from rage at the woman and all she stood for, to horror at his actions, guilt for those he had murdered, before arriving back at anger again. “And you want to create more like me?”

“We intend to give our new defenders full control over their powers when –”

“Powers?” Jim scoffed. “Listen to yourself! These aren’t powers. This is the legacy of an era humanity should leave behind.” No matter how superior it made him feel. He kicked the glass. His foot should’ve broken, but instead the glass cracked.

The woman backed up. “Stand away from the glass or you will lose one of your friends. Who shall I start with? The doctor? The Vulcan? And let’s not forget the operative I have standing by your mother.” 

Jim stood down, thinking fast. “You just want my blood?”

“We can’t move to the next stage of research until we know what’s happening with you. And it goes beyond strength, I know. You were dead after all. The secrets of your blood can literally cure death. I need to know how. You’re the only one our serum worked on.”

“Serum?”

“Come with me,” Edna said. “And you’ll get some answers. We don’t have to be adversaries,”

Jim looked at the screens again. He couldn’t risk his crew, his friends. Not for anything. And he had to find out what was happening to him. Wasn’t that why he’d come out here after all? He needed answers, and then he could start delivering punches.

Except what if taking his blood gave him what they wanted?

No. They wouldn’t find it that easy. Bones had created the serum, and he was a medical genius. He had plenty of time. And if they did, he’d put his ‘power’ to very good use.

“Fine,” he said. “I’ll go with you, but if anything happens to my crew, you will regret it.”

“Understood.”

Edna clapped once, and two guards entered. Both wore thick body armour and carried large phaser rifles. Jim could tell they were set to stun, but he wondered how many hits it would take to put him down if he decided to take his leave.

The glass slid into the ceiling. Jim made himself appear as non-threatening as possible as a guard stepped forward and locked his wrists into cuffs.

“Let’s go,” Edna said.

He followed her through a maze of corridors he nevertheless memorised with ease. The lab they entered was purposefully out of the way, as though the people holding him would have time to put countermeasures in place should he fight back. But when he entered the pristine room, both the size of it and the large number of patients took him by surprise. He counted ten people, all of them unconscious and tethered to their beds by medical equipment Bones would disgustedly label as archaic.

“What’s wrong with these people?” Jim asked.

“The serum we gave them was missing a key component,” Edna said.

“And you think I’ve got it in my blood?”

“Your blood, Khan’s blood, whatever. He is inaccessible, whereas you are not. We need to study you in order to help them.” She nodded towards her unconscious patients as dismissively as possible, as though the ten lives she had screwed with were as inconsequential as spilt milk. “All we have ever wanted is to put the safety of Earth and humanity. And we know how much you care about others. You won’t just leave them to suffer, will you?”

“You’re in the wrong century,” Jim said. “Those kind of attitudes are out of time. And yeah, I care about others, but I’m not limited to humans.”

“You say that even after everything you’ve been through?”

“Everything I’ve been through was the direct outcome of human actions.”

“And Nero?”

Jim stared at her. “You have knowledgeable sources.”

“Starfleet may send its people out into space, but many of them do so only for our cause.”

“Terra Prime,” Jim said. “We’ve never quite shaken you, have we?”

“And for good reason.” Edna stopped. Apparently they’d arrived at their destination. “Now, sit.”

“In that?” The chair Edna pointed him towards looked like something out of a twentieth century nightmare dentist’s office, complete with straps. Sure, it was modern and clean, but it wasn’t exactly inviting. “You don’t trust me to not run away?”

“No. Now, sit down.”

Jim did so. “You got that serum into me in my apartment, didn’t you?”

“I laced every sedative our operatives carried with it,” Edna said as she strapped Jim in place. “In many ways, it’s fortunate you were the only one attacked.”

“You think so, huh?”

If Edna noticed the edge in Jim’s tone, she chose not to comment on it. “If only you’d cooperate with us. We’d make all of this permanent. How long do you think you’ll last if the blackouts and sickness continue?”

“Long enough,” Jim replied.

A technician stepped up to Edna’s side, holding a tray full of hypos. She started jabbing, not speaking until she’d taken ten samples. By the end of it, Jim’s head tingled, the corners of his vision fuzzing with darkness. His stomach churned.

“I think you’re about to experience another blackout,” Edna observed.

“Wonderful,” Jim said, blinking hard. It only made his head spin.

“That’s alright. It’ll give us a chance to harvest bone marrow and take a few other biopsies.”

“What?”

Edna looked at the technician. “Is the OR fully prepared?”

“Yes, ma’am, and the security team is on standby.”

“Good. We’ll move him momentarily.”

Jim put all of his strength into breaking the straps. They snapped under his strength and he staggered to his feet. The guards pushed Edna and the technician back, phasers raised.

“Stand down and your crew remain unharmed,” Edna said.

Jim fell down.

“That will do.” Edna nodded to the guards, one of whom grabbed Jim while the other provided cover. “Come now, Captain, we were getting somewhere.”

Edna’s eyes flicked to something behind Jim. Before he could react, something stabbed his neck. His brain and body disconnected, his limbs refusing to respond. He was hauled out of the lab and into another room, this one filled with people in scrubs and masks. They all stood around a bed which they clearly intended to place him on.

“When you wake up, this will all be over,” Edna said.

Darkness fell.

***

Leonard had only had the misfortune of being stunned once, during a training mission back in his Academy days. He remembered the discomfort of the lower setting. Whatever had hit him this time must’ve been the highest setting because his mouth was completely dried out, his head throbbed with dehydration, and his body felt unnaturally weighted down.

“Ugh.”

“Doctor, are you awake?”

Spock’s voice cut through the fog and Leonard opened his eyes. The Vulcan’s pale face filled his vision. Leonard tried to speak, but his tongue hadn’t caught up with his brain yet.

“Are you able to sit?” Spock asked, keeping his voice low.

Leonard nodded and carefully pushed himself up. His limbs trembled with the effort.

“There is a wall directly behind you,” Spock said.

Leonard gratefully leaned against it, resting his aching head on the cool surface. “Where are we?”

“I believe we are in the basement of Starfleet Medical,” Spock said. “And I also believe we are being monitored through the security camera.”

“Great,” Leonard croaked. He coughed, cleared his throat, and tried again. “Any idea how long it’s been?”

“I believe three hours and sixteen minutes have passed since we were attacked.”

“Are you okay?” Leonard asked. He was grateful for the Vulcan’s tougher constitution, but he didn’t want the man hiding things from him.

“My health is sufficient for any activity,” Spock replied.

“Good to know,” Leonard said. “Any idea who’s keeping us in here?”

“Terra Prime,” Spock answered. “They underestimated my hearing range and I overheard the people standing guard outside this room. We are being used as leverage.”

“Jim,” Leonard said.

“Yes.”

“Shit. How the hell did they find out about any of this?”

“It is likely they have numerous sources throughout Starfleet, and some may have been aligned with Section Thirty-One.”

Leonard’s mind cleared rapidly. “We need to get out of here. Someone must have an idea where Jim went by now.”

“I believe Nyota may know,” Spock said. “If we can get in contact with her, she may be able to provide a location.”

“You don’t think these bastards went after her, too?” Leonard asked.

Spock visibly stiffened at the suggestion. “If they did, it will be they who regret it.”

Leonard chuckled. “Jim’s really rubbed off on you.”

“That is incorrect, Doctor. I merely have knowledge of Nyota’s personality and self-defense capabilities. She has never, as humans like to say, suffered fools gladly.”

“Trust me, I know. What do you think it was like watching Jim wind her up for three years at the Academy?”

Spock’s eyebrow twitched at the concept, but he employed his Vulcan focus and avoided passing comment on the issue. “As there is nothing we can do for her, we should focus on our own escape.”

“And how do you propose we do that?” Leonard asked.

Spock held his hand up. “If you don’t mind, Doctor, I’d rather we weren’t overheard.”

Leonard bristled at the idea, but he also knew needs must. “Fine.”

Spock’s fingers were warm against his face. His voice filled Leonard’s head, sharing with him a simple yet effective plan. Leonard had to applaud the Vulcan’s conciseness as Spock withdrew. “You’re sure there aren’t more of them?” Leonard asked.

“Absolutely sure,” Spock said. “And, like all humans, they lack the self-discipline to remain still and silent.”

Pushing himself upright, Leonard stood in the centre of the room, the door ahead of him. Spock stood next to and banged hard, not relenting until they heard the sound of the door unlocking. Spock pressed himself against the wall. Leonard watched the two guards step in. They were huge and built to kick ass. Leonard felt a flutter of nerves in his chest, but he didn’t allow his eyes to flick to Spock. “So, hey, you bastards stunned me and now I have cotton mouth, not to mention a headache. I want water, I want painkillers, and if you’d be so kind as to tell me why the hell you had to stun me in the first place, I’d sure be grateful.”

Spock moved, hands clamping on the necks of both men. Neither had a chance to put up a fight. In fact, neither got past startled groans before they hit the deck.

“You gotta be kidding me,” Leonard said, bending down to steal their phasers. “How dumb do you have to be?”

Spock took a weapon. “We must go.”

They left the room. Leonard frowned. This wasn’t any part of Starfleet Medical he recognised, although he hadn’t explored every inch of the place. But it didn’t smell right. It didn’t really smell of anything other than recycled air, the kind he hadn’t breathed since leaving the _Enterprise_.

“I believe I may be wrong about our location,” Spock said. He had gone on ahead and stood at a window.

“It’s not Medical?”

“It is not.” Spock stepped back. “Or, to be precise, we are not on Earth.”

“What?”

Leonard joined Spock at the window, which was actually a porthole. Below, Earth shone. “That’s Africa, Spock,” he commented.

“Yes, Doctor, it is.”

Despite everything, despite their abduction and rough treatment, despite the fact his best friend was missing, superpowered and possibly insane, Leonard couldn’t help but take the opportunity fortune had dumped in his lap. “You mess up with geography a lot, Spock? Or does this qualify as astrophysics now?”

“It is likely my senses remained disorientated due to the stun weapon,” Spock replied primly.

“You realize with us up here and Earth down there, we’re kinda screwed.”

“Then perhaps it would be best for us both to channel the captain and cease believing in no-win scenarios.”

“Sure,” Leonard said cheerfully, following Spock down the hallway. “Whatever helps you overcome your small geographic oversight.”

“Doctor, you should attempt to contain your glee as we are in enemy territory and may be forced to defend ourselves at any moment.”

“Isn’t it kind of weird no one’s come already? If there was a camera on us, shouldn’t there be all kinds of alarms going off?”

An alarm went off.

“Well, whaddya know,” Leonard muttered.

“Your timing is mere coincidence,” Spock replied. “Come. We must find take cover.”

“Ain’t a good day with the _Enterprise_ crew unless someone’s shooting at us,” Leonard said, racing to keep up with Spock’s Vulcan speed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be back before 2015 ;)


	9. Chapter 9

Surprisingly, it was Leonard who realised the truth before Spock. He came to a standstill.

Spock called back over his shoulder. “Doctor, you must continue to run.”

“No.” The alarms hadn’t stopped wailing, but one thing had become very clear. “Spock, no one’s here.”

Spock came to a standstill as well. He looked at Leonard, one eyebrow cocked at a thoughtful angle. “We have been running for five minutes and not seen another being. Your conclusion is not impossible.”

“Not impossible,” Leonard muttered, rolling his eyes. “Your hearing’s better than mine, Spock. Hear anyone running this way?”

Like it pained him to admit it, Spock took a deep breath, held it, then released it with a simple “No.”

Trying his hardest to contain the smug grin, Leonard couldn’t quite hold in the chuckle. “Come on. We need to work out how to get out of here, and you need to hack something to shut that damn alarm off.”

Through a proper application of logic on Spock’s part, they located the hub of the space station in the dead centre of the structure. Spock made quick work of the alarm. “Intriguing,” he said. “Other than the guards, we are the only other two life forms aboard this station.”

“What’s it for?” Leonard asked. He wasn’t exactly a technological whiz, but he knew outdated equipment when he saw a Vulcan’s patience tested by its slowness.

“I believe it may have previously served as a private shuttle launch station,” Spock said. He picked up a PADD someone had discarded at the operations station and tapped at it, eyes flicking back and forth rapidly as he worked. “However, based on my calculations, I believe it fell out of constant use five years ago.”

“And now?”

“Given our current predicament, prison would be an accurate description.” Spock split his attention between the PADD and the station’s computer. “Based on the station’s records, it would seem we are not the first to be held here.”

“So, no shuttles?”

“None.”

Leonard gulped. “Transporter?”

“No.”

“Communications relay?”

“Purposefully sabotaged.”

“Care to un-sabotage it, Spock?”

“I could, but I believe I have a faster method of escape for us.”

Leonard waited for an explanation.

Spock provided it. “The escape pods.” He tapped a screen, cycling through various menus, activating various systems as he went.

Shuttles and transporters suddenly seemed like great ideas. “Pods?”

“Ah.” Spock paused.

“Ah?” Leonard prompted. “Spit it out.”

“I was incorrect when I said there were pods.”

“Shit, so we are stuck.”

“You are incorrect, Doctor. I was merely incorrect to use the plural. There is a pod.”

“A… Singular… One?”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“You mean…”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Ah, maybe I’ll wait here.”

“You cannot. We must return to Earth so you can resume work on a cure for Jim.”

“Anything you wanna stay up here for?”

“As I have already downloaded all pertinent files onto this PADD, no, Doctor.”

“Well. Dammit.”

Spock turned to him. “I suggest we leave before our guards regain consciousness and track us down.”

“Fine,” Leonard said, following Spock out of the operations centre. “But you better swear you’ll never tell a soul, especially Jim, about what is about to be the most uncomfortable experience of our lives.”

“Agreed.”

***

Nyota was not prone to hot headed and irrational action. She was well known, and loved, for her patience and intelligence. She watched their guard as he stayed behind the camera, phaser raised. She knew taking him out wouldn’t be particularly hard. Although she’d never admit it to him, there was one thing Jim Kirk had taught her that no one else could: fight dirty. It might not be as elegant or as masterful as what they were taught at the Academy, but it was unexpected, brutal and frequently more effective.

She glanced at Scotty. Displeased was not a strong enough word for the look of outrage on his face. His eyes flicked to hers. His didn’t need to use words to tell her he was going to do something helpful. It was all in the angles and direction of his body.

Scotty stared at their captor. “Do you realize who you’re dealing with here?”

The man said nothing. Probably trained not to communicate with his prisoners.

“Now, I’m not talking about myself, you see. I’m talking about the captain. Your people have him, right? Have you seen the security footage of what he did here?” Scotty chuckled, a surprisingly menacing sound from the usually jovial Scotsman. “And you think you can make him do what you want him to do?”

Scotty was not deterred. In fact, he put on quite the performance. He leapt from his seat and let rip. “And how dare you take me away from repairing this ship? Do you have any idea of the things the _Enterprise_ has done, or what this beautiful ship has been through? If you knew, if you had any respect at all, you’d get down on your knees and beg for forgiveness from me!”

“Sit down.” The man aimed his weapon at Scotty. “I will shoot you if I have to.”

Nyota made sure the phaser was set to stun, breathing again when she saw that it was. She perched on the edge of her seat, waiting to strike. Scotty would give her an opening, she just had to wait.

“And if you think I’ll forgive you for any delays your selfishness has caused, laddie, you’ve got another thing coming. Ever been on the receiving end of a Glasgow Handshake, because you are –”

The man’s arms twitched before he fired. Nyota was up as Scotty went down, taking the stun shot to the chest. The man fired again, but Nyota was ready, ducking down and throwing an arm up, knocking the man’s hands to the side. She stayed down and kicked out, sweeping him off his feet. He hit the deck noisily, where Nyota’s booted foot slammed into his stomach, his nose and then his head.

Brutal, but effective. He was too dazed to move, but Nyota stunned him with his own phaser just to be safe. She pulled off his overshirt and turned it into an effective restraint.

She went to the camera, quickly disabling its recording and transmitting capabilities. She wanted to trace its signal, suspecting it would take them directly to the captain. She was fairly certain he was in Nevada, but sometimes it paid to double check. Rousing Scotty as best she could and hauling him to his groggy feet, tucking the small camera into her waistband alongside the phaser, she dragged him out of the conference room and disabled the door from the outside. Their prisoner secure, she hauled Scotty back to the bridge. If she could get her communications station up and running, she could start the trace.

They made it to the bridge without coming across anybody else. Placing Scotty on the floor, Nyota activated her station, summoning security and medical assistance, hoping nobody else would be working against them.

Scotty suddenly snapped upright, words gurgling. Even with all her skills, Nyota couldn’t understand a word he was saying.

“Monty!” she called.

He turned to her. It was possible he attempted to say her name, but it didn’t quite come out right.

“It’s okay. You were stunned. Security’s coming and I’m trying to find the captain.”

“We’re safe?” Scotty asked, voice slurring. He slapped his hands over his face and rubbed hard. “Ugh.”

“I don’t know. We have no way to be sure we can trust the people coming.”

Scotty staggered to his feet, keeping himself upright with a combination of willpower and the console he clung to. “What about the others?”

Nyota left the trace to run while opening up various communication links. Spock didn’t answer, and neither did Leonard. She cursed softly, then tried Chekov.

“ _It is good to hear you, Miss Nyota,”_ Chekov said, voice thick.

“You got stunned too?” she asked him.

“ _Ah, yes, but I am fine. And Doctor Marcus is here. She’s going to help us_.”

“ _Hello,”_ came Carol’s calm voice.

“Carol, it’s good to hear from you.” Nyota asked. “So, you all have a plan?”

“ _Not yet,_ ” Chekov said. “ _Do you_?”

“I’m tracing the signal of the people who came for us,” Nyota replied.

“ _Any chance you’ll be able to hack their systems_?” It was Sulu speaking this time. “ _If the captain’s with them, and you can get us some intel, we can launch a proper offensive_.”

“You think we’ll need to break him out?” Nyota asked, checking the status of her trace. Several proxies were already bypassed, but the final, precise, location had yet to come up. An area of Nevada was still too broad a definition.

“ _Probably not, but the people holding him might be glad we’re there_ ,” Sulu said.

“Good point,” Nyota said. “Have any of you heard from Spock or Doctor McCoy?”

“ _No_ ,” Sulu said. “ _Where were they supposed to be_?”

“Medical, probably,” Nyota replied, holding tightly to her emotions. “Can you see if they’re over there?”

“ _I will,_ ” Carol said.

“Alright,” Nyota said. “I’ll see what I can do from this end. I’ll keep you posted.”

“ _Likewise. Be safe,”_ Sulu said.

“And you.”

Security finally arrived. Scotty, back in command of his senses, led them off, leaving Nyota to work in private. She wound her way through the proxies and got their location in the midst of Nevada’s wasteland. She followed the camera’s signal into their mainframe and used that to work her way through their communications systems. She tried to pull live footage, but despite having access, the system proved painfully slow due to the proxies.

But when the video did come online, she couldn’t believe what she saw.

And James T Kirk at the heart of it, phasers in his hands, potential victims cowering ahead of him.

Nyota grabbed her communicator. “Sulu? You were right.”

***

Jim held himself still. He’d come to moments before to the sound of soft talking. Courtesy of his _powers_ , he could hear their words despite the distance. It was strange to hear them discussing him, but informative, too. His _transformation_ was unstable, and so far, nothing they’d cooked up seemed to be working.

They said he’d die if they didn’t fix what they’d done to trigger it. Words like _unstable_ and _stressful_ were batted around.

_“_ Only one thing for it,” said a nasally male voice. “We need the person who brought him back.”

_“_ We have him, except some idiot decided to send him up to the station rather than bring him here,” a woman replied. “And, given that it’s such a decrepit piece of shit up there, we’ve lost contact.”

“Crap,” the man said. “What the hell are we gonna do?”

“Get back to work, for a start.” It was Edna. “And don’t waste what time we have.”

“Sorry, boss,” the man said. Jim heard him and the other woman leave.

Edna didn’t say anything. If Jim listened hard enough, he could hear the minute sounds of her shuffling back and forth. Did she know he wasn’t asleep?

“Dammit,” she whispered. “What a mess.”

So, no. “You’ve fucked this up, haven’t you?”

She cried out in shock. He rolled over to face her and sat up, smirking as he watched her attempt to pull herself together.

“Looks like you’re having some trouble,” Jim said. He took stock of his body now he was upright, noting the faint light-headedness and the ache in his empty stomach. He looked around, recognising his cell. “No good news on the superhuman project, huh?”

“These things take time,” Edna said smoothly, brushing a stray lock of her behind her ear. “I take it you are feeling better?”

“For now,” Jim replied. “Thanks to you, I doubt it’ll last long.”

“Don’t try anything. Don’t forget we still have your crew.”

Jim bristled. “Going to show them to me again, just to drive your point home?”

“I think you got it the last time.”

“Yeah,” Jim said, standing and stretching, taking his time. “And to think I came here expecting answers.” He shook his head. “At least I learned you guys are idiots, and the same ignorant bigots you’ve been since your inception.” He held tight to the rage, knowing he couldn’t allow it to boil over. Not yet. “How many more people are you going to destroy before you realize Earth is never going to turn inward?”

“We will fix you and then we will fix humanity,” Edna said.

Jim walked along the glass, trailing a hand across the cool surface. His muscles ached at the opportunity to smash it, and Edna, too. “And if you fail?”

“I’m not going to.” She turned to him. “How can I, when I have Doctor McCoy at my disposal? He’ll help us, or he’ll watch you die before we kill him.”

Jim’s fist went through the glass.

He had his hands around her throat an instant later, lifting her body off the ground. “You’re not going to touch him.”

“Too late,” she gasped. “We already have.”

He tossed her aside. She hit the screens before collapsing to the ground. He went to the door, but it slid open to allow two guards in. Jim leapt back, picked up Edna and lobbed her at the guards. They collapsed in a heap. He took their weapons, stunned them all, marvelled at his own restraint for leaving an unconscious heap of people rather than a pile of dead bodies, and stepped out. Before he left, he disabled the door, locking Edna and her guards inside. Enough was enough. He’d found the people who’d attack him and his crew, and murdered one of his cadets. He’d let them run tests and proven they were as useless at helping him as they were at everything else Terra Prime had ever set out to do. Time to tear them apart from the inside out.

The first guard who came his way took a punch to the gut, flew back several metres, and left a dent in the wall.

Jim relished the strength flowing through him. He tossed the guards aside like they were nothing, their stun weapons little more than annoying itches. He plucked weapons from their hands, keeping two of them in case he needed to make a point. He knocked his would-be attackers back and stepped on their bodies, ignoring the cries below. He would burn this place to the ground, and the best place to do that would be from the labs.

He stepped in, ignoring the discarded shapes of the comatose people. The doctors and their assistants stopped and stared. A nasty smirk darkened Jim’s features.

“So,” he said, raising his phasers. “Who wants to try and stop me first?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life is about to get very busy, but I'll do my best to post before autumn comes. Alas, summer is the busiest time of year for me at work. 
> 
> Hopefully I'll see you all soon :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN OVER TWO YEARS IN THE MAKING!
> 
> Forgive me. But the good news is the rest of the story is complete! Hooray! I'm editing the rest as you read this :D 
> 
> Your patience is hugely appreciated. I do hope the end of Alone in the Cold is worth the wait.

“Please, stand down,” the panicked doctor closest to Jim said. “If we can’t find a way to work out the problems with the serum we’ve injected you with, you’ll die.”

“You dare to threaten my crew, my family, and think I’ll listen to anything you have to say?” Jim bellowed.

The doctor held up his hands to placate Jim. “You aren’t thinking straight. It’s a side-effect. We should’ve tested the serum more thoroughly before injecting you, but we didn’t have the time. The winter break at the Academy was our only window of opportunity. Please. We have all the samples we need. The analysis has begun. We’ll find a way to allow you to keep your powers safely in time. You are the key to making humanity powerful. Let us help you, so that we may help our world stand strong as it once did! Terra Prime will – ”

Jim took him out with a single punch. There was no way to tell if he’d caused permanent damage. Jim decided he couldn’t care about that. After all, he’d already killed some of the people who’d come for him.

The others in the room looked at him nervously. Five seconds later, they were all unconscious. Jim made his way to the computers. He made quick work of downloading a copy of their database onto a PADD. The information was encrypted, but it was nothing he wouldn’t be able to decipher as soon as he had the time. The saner part of him knew Bones could find a way to shut down his enhancements. The power-mad side of him intended to make the doctor find a way to make them permanent. Right now, the warring sides of his mind were way beyond any kind of compromise.

Either way, Jim needed everything Terra Prime had.

Digging deeper into their network, he found an open communications link. He traced it back to the _Enterprise._ A text message appeared on screen.

‘Captain, it’s Uhura. We’re coming for you. Hold on.’

He typed back a rapid response. ‘Stand down. I have everything under control.’ His hands trembled, the strength leaking out of him. “Dammit!” Grabbing the PADD now loaded with Terra Prime’s database, he quickly enacted the compound’s security protocols, changing them so only he could open the doors between himself and escape with ease. It probably wouldn’t stop his enemies, but it would slow them long enough. Job done, he staggered away from the workstation. He was running out of time. Another blackout was imminent.

Jim stumbled out of the lab. He had to keep going. Alarms were blaring. Edna’s voice carried over the airwaves. She sounded pained. Jim’s lips quirked. Good. She deserved a little suffering. He listened to her order all available personnel to put him down.

They could try.

He came across a group of four heavily armed guards, trapped between the doors he’d sealed. Jim tossed them away, their weights and bulks nothing to him. Two became embedded in the walls Jim launched them at. The others fell to the ground, their bodies misshapen due to broken bones and dislocations. They moaned. They had to be in agony. Jim’s conscience quailed briefly. Whether he wanted it or not, he was getting stronger, despite the increasing frequency of the blackouts. The people attacking him were putting their lives in very real danger.

He had to get out.

The fools were too weak to stop him.

He had to stop himself.

Internal debate raging, Jim followed the corridor. He found their armoury. It was jammed with all manner of phasers and grenades. Nothing Jim needed. Any thoughts he had of stunning those who attacked him disappeared beneath a swell of irritation. If they attacked him, they would have to pay the consequences. He carried on, passing sealed dormitories and a mess hall. People hammered on the doors and shouted. Jim left them to it. The turns eventually took him to a staircase. It led up. He could make out windows. Natural light came through. The sight of it blurred. He blinked, but it didn’t help.

He managed two steps before he passed out.

***

Nyota punched her console in frustration. She could see Kirk in a heap on the ground, and there was no way to rouse him. “Sulu, please tell me you have a plan.”

“ _You have a location?_ ”

“Yes.”

“ _Then we launch a rescue mission_.”

“We can’t stop him if he turns on us,” Nyota said. “He’s overpowering these people like they’re nothing.”

“ _He’s still the captain_ ,” Sulu said. “ _He wouldn’t want us to let him tear that place apart and kill those people if we could stop him._ ”

Nyota’s communicator beeped with an incoming message. “It’s Carol,” she told Sulu. “I’m patching her in. Carol? Go ahead.”

“ _I’m at Medical. Commander Spock and Doctor McCoy were abducted roughly an hour ago. The files they were working on are still open. It seems they were attempting to look into the captain’s latest medical tests_.”

“ _Did they get anywhere?_ ” Sulu asked.

“ _No. The records are missing_ ,” Carol said glumly. “ _If we want answers about how to help the captain, they’re going to have to come from the people who did this to him to begin with._ ”

“ _Then we need to go to where he’s being held_ ,” Sulu said.

“Do you know where any of the _Enterprise’s_ security staff currently is?” Nyota asked.

“ _Yeah, most of them are stationed at the crash site, but there should be a few off duty_ ,” Sulu said.

“Gather them,” Nyota said. “You’ll need them. I can coordinate from here.” She glanced at the screen showing the captain. He was still out cold, and thankfully alone, but there was no way to know how much longer that would last. “Five minutes, Sulu. You need to move.”

“ _Understood. Chekov’s with me, too. We’ll find the captain_.” Sulu ended his call.

“ _How can I help_?” Carol asked.

“Find Spock and Leonard. We’re going to need them,” Nyota said. “I’m monitoring Starfleet’s communications. Hopefully something will come up.”

“ _Keep me updated_ ,” Carol said. “ _I’ll stay here in Medical_.”

“Great, thanks.” The screen captured her attention. Jim was stirring. Worse still, two guards approached him. “Carol, I have to go. Be safe.” Nyota’s hands flew over her console. If she could just penetrate the Nevada installation’s communication grid, she’d be able to talk to the captain directly, maybe calm him down so he could await rescue. But even as she worked, she saw him stand and bodyslam his would-be attackers into the ground.

He really would tear the place, and its people, apart.

Something else caught her ear. An alert from Starfleet Command. She tuned in, and hardly believed what she was hearing.

***

“Are you even trying to land this thing?” Bones demanded. Jammed in a single occupancy pod next to Spock ranked as one of the most uncomfortable experiences of his life. The pod juddered so much he wasn’t sure his teeth wouldn’t be rattled right out of his jaw. “We have to get back to Earth in one piece!”

“I am attempting to guide us as close to San Francisco as possible. The PADD I found aboard the station has access to Terra Prime’s recent activity. We may be able to access the data needed to help Jim,” Spock said. “Your patience and silence would be appreciated.”

Bones muttered under his breath but otherwise fell silent. There was too much to worry about to fight with Spock right now. Leonard struggled to focus his thinking. He didn’t want to die in some awful re-entry crash, but this pod was old, barely responsive, and definitely not built to contain two fully grown adults.

“ _Hailing unknown escape pod. This is Starfleet Command. Please respond.”_

“Doctor, if you would.” Spock didn’t take his gaze off the controls.

Leonard wiggled forward and managed to free an arm to hit the communications icon on-screen. “This is Doctor Leonard McCoy. Myself and Commander Spock are inbound.” He gave a quick overview of what had happened. “We need to return to Starfleet Medical immediately.”

“ _We have your signals. We’ll beam you out. The pod is going to land in the bay._ ”

Leonard shot Spock a look. The man opened his mouth, no doubt to deliver an argument on the logical nature of their trajectory, but Leonard silenced him. “Understood. Standing by.”

Five seconds later, they stood in Starfleet Medical. Leonard expected medical personnel to be standing by, but instead Commander Daina and Lieutenant Pritchard were there to greet them. Daina stepped forward. “We’ve had some trouble raising members of your crew, gentlemen, including Captain Kirk. Care to explain?”

Spock handed Leonard the PADD he’d grabbed aboard the space station. “It has access to the files you will need.”

“Got it.” Leonard moved to leave.

Daina stopped him. She reached out to grab the PADD. Leonard pulled it out of her reach. She frowned. “I have to speak with you,” she said.

“Later. This is an emergency.”

Pritchard stepped up. “We really need you to stay.” His hand rested on his phaser.

Daina wasn’t nearly so restrained. She raised her weapon. “Hand over that PADD.”

“Not a chance. This is the key to –”

Daina shot it out of Leonard’s hand. It fell to the ground, sparking uselessly.

Leonard glared at her. “You’re Terra Prime.”

Daina smiled.

“You didn’t come to Jim’s place to help him. You came to find out what he knew.”

“And to plug the leak,” Daina said.

“You killed Cadet Travis?”

“Yes. Kirk had figured it out. The cadet had to be put down.” Her phaser flicked over to Spock. “You cannot stop us. We will get what we want from Kirk.”

“Actually, I really don’t think you will.”

Carol Marcus stood in the doorway. She fired two stun shots. Daina and Pritchard hit the deck.

“Good timing,” Leonard said.

“You can thank Uhura. She overhead the chatter from Starfleet Command about your arrival, but Security said they hadn’t arrived here yet.” She went to a nearby communications workstation. “Real Security is on its way.”

Leonard looked down at the smoking PADD “Dammit, we needed that.”

“Lieutenant Sulu and several others are launching a rescue attempt,” Carol said. “They know where Jim is. Uhura’s coordinating.”

“I shall contact her for an update,” Spock said.

“Spock, if you go after him, be ready for some pretty wild behaviour. You may not be able to talk him down.”

“Understood.”

“Spock, I’m saying you might have to take him down for your own safety.”

“I know.” If it troubled Spock in any way, Leonard couldn’t tell.

“I’ll get things ready here. You just find a way to bring Jim back.”

Leonard rushed out. Spock joined Carol at the communications hub. He put a call through to Nyota.

“ _Spock. Thank goodness. Are you alright?”_

“Doctor McCoy and I are fine. Are you safe?”

“ _We are now. Scotty’s rounded up some trustworthy security officers from the shipyards. We had a team of five Terra Prime agents on board the_ Enterprise, _but they’re all under arrest now. Scotty knew some of them, said they’ve been repairing the ship for weeks. But listen, I have the captain’s location. Sulu and Chekov have taken a team out there to break him out, but I’ve got my eye on him, and something’s wrong. Kirk’s not… He’s tearing that place apart.”_

“Send me their location.”

“ _Done.”_

“I will beam myself there and join the efforts.”

“ _Be careful_. _He’s not himself._ ”

Spock saw the coordinates appear. He programmed the transporter. Carol handed him a phaser. “I’ll help Doctor McCoy,” she said. “Hurry.”

Spock stepped onto the transporter and disappeared into crackling white light.

***

Jim prowled the compound. The brightly lit corridor hadn’t led outside, it had led to the data processing centre. Banks of processors lined the room ahead of him. When the door didn’t respond to his commands, he simply punched through it and tore it out of its housing. He had to use this strength while he was conscious. He couldn’t stop sweating. Fever ate into him. His skin felt too tight. The power in his muscles scalded his nerves. There was a very real chance he would burn out, literally. It was getting worse with each blackout. He didn’t have time to hang around.

Not that he really knew what he should do once he had escaped. Go back to Starfleet, have them fix him? Make him ordinary again?

Pathetic.

No, his more rational side argued. That was the only way. He couldn’t stay like this. He wasn’t better. He was an out of control monster.

But if Terra Prime _could_ fix him…

He slammed a fist into the nearest data bank. Electricity that should’ve killed him merely tingled. The burns on his skin, however, looked severe.

“Captain Kirk, that is enough. You will go no further. Surely you see now that we need to finish what we’ve started. We can help you. We can help all of humanity.”

He turned around. Edna stood behind him, a group of four security officers surrounding her. They carried phaser blasters.

“Trust me, even you will feel it when these hit you,” Edna said.

“They won’t have a chance.”

Jim leapt over a processor. Phaser fire hit it. Components popped and exploded, the stark tang of melted wires filling the air.

“Don’t!” Edna shouted. “We can’t risk damaging the computer. We’ll lose everything. Pin him down.”

They couldn’t. Not when Jim could move so fast. Not when he could hear even the softest footfall and the quietest intake of breath. Someone approached from the other side of the huge central processor unit. Jim waited for the man to turn into him.

“Boo.”

The man gasped. He fumbled for his weapon, but it was already too late. Jim tore it from his hands and used it as a battering ram. His would-be attacker flew off his feet, into the man coming up behind. They crashed into a processor.

The electricity wasn’t a mere tingle to them.

Jim heard a whisper of movement behind him. It was a nice try, but it wouldn’t work. Jim planted his left foot and kicked backwards with his right. He heard the woman’s ribs break on contact. She collapsed to the ground, moaning faintly.

Fools.

“They’ve come for you,” Edna called. She’d taken cover on the far end of the data processing room. “Your crew. Your friends. They’re going to have to go through our hanger to get here, and I’ve got people ready and waiting to stop them. But I could call them off. All I need you to do is let us finish what we’ve started. Let us take more samples. This time, we’ll find the right treatment. You will be a true augment, just like Khan!”

Low to the ground, moving silently, Jim crept up on Edna. She didn’t notice him. He stood behind her for a moment, watching. She opened her communicator. “Hanger team, come in.”

“ _Edna, we’ve got Starfleet officers approaching,_ ” another woman responded. “ _What are your orders?_ ”

“What will it be, Kirk? Will you save your friends, or stand by while they’re slaughtered?”

Jim dropped a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened under his touch.

“Please. Don’t hurt me. Let me help you. Help me take humanity into a new dawn of power and sovereignty.”

He forced her to turn around. His hands clamped down on either side of her skull. A voice inside him told him to stop, told him not to squeeze.

The rage shrieking through his mind silenced his better nature.

She screamed in agony. Her skull felt flimsy under his grip. It wouldn’t take much to crack it.

“ _Edna, they’re attacking! We have to fight back.”_

“Everyone will die,” Edna spat, despite the agony she had to be in. “Your people are outnumbered. Terra Prime will slaughter them.”

Jim’s senses regathered. He felt her skull under his fingers. With just the slightest increase in pressure, it would crack. His hands would sink into her brain beneath. Grey matter and blood would ooze through his fingers. Revulsion stole his breath. He let go of her head. She collapsed.

Edna, incredibly, wasn’t finished. “You’ll be a monster if you don’t let us help you.”

A brief, mirthless chuckle escaped him. “Let the monsters help a monster? No thanks.”

He kicked her in the stomach, launching her into the ceiling panels. Jim patted his waistband. The PADD was still there. He hadn’t lost it. That meant he had all of Terra Prime’s data.

He couldn’t allow them to keep it for themselves. He grabbed Edna’s weapon and fired on every server.

“No!” she screamed. “No!”

“You’re finished,” he said.

“And so are you! You damn fool, you’ve destroyed decades of work!”

He flipped the rifle and slammed the stock into the base of her skull. Edna slumped, unconscious. Racing out of the room, Jim followed the distant sound of phaser fire. No one was going to hurt his crew. He had to hold onto that thought, even as the haze of rage and power sank over him again. His crew were his friends. Family. He was not _better_ than them. He needed them.

Right now, he needed them more than ever.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in two days, woo! I will *try* and update this tomorrow, but if I fail, I'll make up for it on Sunday ^_^

Jim reached the hanger. He dashed in and took cover behind a pile of crates. His people were pinned down, forced to take cover behind a fleet of elderly shuttlecraft. The phaser fire was thick – Starfleet set to stun, Terra Prime set to kill. The enemy had taken all the high positions in the hanger’s walkways, turning the floor into a killzone. He counted twenty terrorists. Eyes scanning, he caught sight of Sulu, Spock, Chekov, Hendorff, and a number of familiar security team faces. Two of his would-be rescuers were down, and as Jim watched from his hiding place, he could see the terrorists moving into position to take the remaining Starfleet crew down.

Not a chance.

Jim jumped high, the strength in his legs propelling him up to the walkway. He landed in a crouch behind one of Terra Prime’s agents. Jim snagged her weapon and threw her off the walkway. He lobbed it at the next closest terrorist. It smacked the back of his head. Instant knock out.

Three more Terra Prime agents went down before the rest realised something was wrong. They turned. Well-trained, they reacted instantly.

Four phaser blasts slammed into Jim. He staggered back, his clothes smouldering.

Several voices shouted out from below. Phaser fire sounded out. Several of the terrorists hit the deck, stun blasts taking them down.

“Captain!” It was Spock.

The pain was brief. Jim could see his burned and charred skin. The smell of cooked meat wafted into his nostrils, even though the wound was already healing. He stood up and punched the nearest Terra Prime shooter. His fist pummelled her solar plexus. She collapsed in on him. He dropped her and stepped over her.

Three terrorists remained standing. Two ran at Jim while the third fired at the crew below.

They’d saved the best fighters for last. One slid beneath Jim’s legs while the other distracted him with a punch aimed at his face. Jim blocked, but he felt his strength waver. The pain in his chest worsened, the agony of the phaser burns vivid and stark. He could feel the healing falter, like his body had to redirect energy the way a starship had to.

He took a punch from behind. Head spinning, vision speckled with stars, Jim fell to his knees.

The pair laid into him. One of them caught the phaser burn. The pain blinded him. He collapsed, pain seizing every inch of him.

Phaser fire. Someone cried out. Whoever the Terra Prime sniper was, they were good, shooting and moving before anyone below could score a hit.

And Jim didn’t have a chance to take them out.

He took another hit, but this time the Terra Prime agent dug his nails in, tearing at the blistered flesh.

Jim blacked out for an instant. When he came to, he forced himself upright. A kick caught him under the chin. Jim’s teeth bit down on his tongue. Blood trickled down his chin.

Blows slammed into him from every angle. Rage coiled in his limbs. It gave him strength.

It gave him a purpose.

The phaser burns ceased to hurt.

The punches and kicks were like flicks; an annoyance but hardly painful.

Jim stood. He grabbed his attackers and slammed them together. Their heads crunched into each other. They dropped to the ground, unconscious.

All that remained was the –

The shooter was down, stunned, flopped over the walkway’s guardrail.

“Captain, we have taken out all of the operatives,” Spock called.

“We?” Jim asked. He grinned. Adrenaline danced through him. He flexed his fingers. Were there more? He felt ready to take out another batch of fighters. “I only left you one, right?” And cheated himself out of one more good fight.

“You are a formidable fighter,” Spock said. “But you are needed at Starfleet Medical. The security team will remain here and find any lurkers, and to ensure the facility is properly investigated.”

Jim leapt over the guardrail and landed on the hanger floor. His balance wobbled, but he managed to stand upright. His muscles fizzed, his strength an illusion. Was another blackout imminent? He pulled the PADD out of his waistband and tossed it to Spock. “That’s their database.  It’s all the investigating you’ll need to do,” he said as Spock caught the device.

His people closed in. None of them holstered their phasers, even when a handful of the security team went off to handcuff the unconscious and beaten Terra Prime agents. Even Chekov had his phaser at the ready. Jim’s temper flared.

“You really thing you’re gonna need to shoot me?” he asked them.

“You must accompany Lieutenant Sulu back to Starfleet Medical,” Spock said.

“We’ll even steal one of their shuttles,” Sulu said, grinning. “I can’t remember the last time I flew an antique like these.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Jim said. “I need to be sure Terra Prime can’t fight back.” The thought of it consumed him. He had to do it, had to be sure they were all incapacitated. “They have to be destroyed.”

Spock closed in. He spoke in low tones to avoid being overheard. “Your enhancements are unstable. You require treatment.”

Jim pressed his hands to his head. His fingers slid through sweat and blood. Spock’s words sparked resentment. His rational voice fell silent. It couldn’t fight off his anger. It buzzed inside him, insects scrabbling through his brain, bleeding hot trails of acid. It tightened every muscle in his body. His teeth ground into each other.

“Captain.”

“These people attacked us. All of us. I will not allow them to get away with it.”

“And they will not,” Spock said, cool and unruffled as ever. “They have not.”

His lack of anger infuriated Jim. “They violated your home, Spock! You can’t let them get away with it.”

“Captain, stand down. We need to –”

The faintest scrape of a door sliding back into its recess distracted Jim from Spock’s words. Everything Jim did next was pure instinct.

He turned.

Saw Edna.

Saw the grenade in Edna’s hand.

She threw it. It arced through the air, heading for Jim’s crew.

“No!”

With a single, bounding leap, Jim plucked it out of midair.

Spock took a (logical) step back.

Edna’s face twisted in a malevolent grin.

Jim landed and tossed it back at her, his strength giving the grenade incredible speed.

She sidestepped.

“Impossible,” Chekov breathed.

The grenade sailed into the compound.

The explosion was incredible. The walkways fell. The shuttles closest to the compound were knocked off their stands. The shockwave tore across the hanger. Everyone was knocked off their feet.

Everyone except Jim and Edna.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for not posting yesterday. It turned into a bit of a crazy day. Phew, through it all now. Back to the story :D

Her smirk twisted her entire face. “See what we’ve done?” she said. “Terra Prime can augment humanity, make us better.”

“Except the augmentation is unstable.” Jim’s vision had a soft blur that wouldn’t clear. A dull ache settled behind his eyes. Nausea curdled in his gut. He was too hot, and not just because of the burns marring his flesh. “You’ll be just like me.”

“We don’t need you now,” Edna said. “They can use me to fix the problems with –”

She broke off with a terrible, bone-deep groan. Jim watched as her body buckled, bizarre contortions making her limbs jerk at impossible angles. She howled, the sound choked with blood and gore, the noise dragged from some unimaginable depth of suffering. She doubled over. Her clothes tore as she swelled to monstrous proportions. Her legs thickened to take on the extra weight. Veins popped and bubbled across grotesquely stretched skin. He heard her joints popping as they broke out of place and readjusted their position. Her skull ballooned. Bone broke through her scalp.

When the transformation finally ended, Edna barely resembled a human. Her veins protruded through her skin, her muscles swollen bulges. She towered over Jim, eight feet tall and equally as wide. Drool oozed from her misshapen jaw. Her mouth worked, but all that emerged were garbled noises.

She moved. Fast. Faster than anything that size should move. Right hand pulled back, she leapt across the hanger at Jim. He raised his arms to block her punch. It didn’t help. He flew off his feet and slammed into a shuttle halfway across the hanger. He crashed into the ground. Pain shot through every inch of him. He tried to move, but his body refused to hear his brain’s commands.

Edna, or whatever she’d become, was on him. She plucked him off the ground as though he were a ragdoll. Her fetid breath gushed over him. She tossed him again, high into the air. This time, he landed on the remnants of the walkway. For a few moments, he could see his crewmembers behind her. Some were on their feet. Others were not. Sulu was one who was up, helping the injured to their feet.

Edna turned on them. Her misshapen hand reached out to Sulu. He tried to move, but she plucked him off the ground like he was a toy on a shelf.

There was no time to hesitate, no time to question how long he had left before another blackout. Jim swung himself over the handrail and landed on Edna's back. She released Sulu, who hit the ground rolling. His fencer’s grace guided him back to his feet.

“Captain!”

“Go!” he shouted at Sulu. “Get them out of here!”

“Aye, sir!” Sulu helped a dazed Spock to his feet.

Arms wrapped Edna's neck, Jim threw his weight backwards. He dragged Edna off balance. She toppled, felled. She hit the ground hard, but she wasn't finished. She rolled to her feet. Jim tried to follow, but she slapped him back. Jim skidded. Edna seized her opening and ran towards an unconscious Chekov.

“No!”

The more alert security guards fired on her, but their stun blasts did nothing. Jim ran at her, but even with his enhanced speed, he couldn’t keep up. Edna had Chekov. She raised him up to examine her specimen.

Then she placed a hand on his arm and pulled. Chekov’s shoulder popped out of joint. At least he wasn’t conscious.

Thoughts moving at lightspeed, Jim caught sight of a long section of the walkway the explosion had damaged and sent crashing to the hanger’s ground level. He grabbed a lengthy metal girder. Legs planted wide apart, he swung and released. The bar slammed into Edna, knocking her flat to the ground. Chekov was thrown from her grasp. His senseless body came to a rest just out of range of the metal bar. It wasn’t enough to pin Edna to the ground, but it slowed her enough for Jim to reach her before she could go after Chekov again.

Jim pummelled her. He ignored her wails and roars of pain. She was a threat, and he had to put her down by any means necessary.

He couldn’t allow sympathy to sway him.

Sympathy was for the weak.

He caught sight of movement. His fists stilled when he saw Chekov stir. The younger man came to, blinking owlishly at the nightmare in front of him. Panic, pain and horror registered in his wide eyes.

“Run, Chekov,” Jim said. “Go, now!”

Injured arm clenched to his side, Chekov scrambled to his feet and ran. Jim swung hard, but the blow was intercepted. Edna glared at him. Before he could fight back, her forearm hit him. Being hit by a ground truck going full speed would hurt less than Edna’s blow. And she wasn’t finished. She descended on him again, slamming him down before he could get up. The concrete cracked beneath him as she drove him into the ground. His bones rattled under his skin. Darkness encroached his vision. He wasn’t going to hold on for much longer. Rage choked him. How could he not beat her? She was a monster, a deformed creature. She had mutilated herself. He had to stop her. She was a threat unlike any other. His crew couldn’t stop her. A volley of phaser fire, set to kill this time, hit her, but it bounced off her. She roared at the crew. Jim grabbed her leg and knocked her over before she could attack them.

“Fall back!” he ordered the security officers still trying to help.

They followed orders, but Jim had no idea how to stop her. They were, he grudgingly admitted, evenly matched.

For now. Adrenaline may have crushed the worst of his pain, but it wouldn’t last forever.

He blocked her next blow with both hands and pushed her back. He couldn’t let her escape into the wider world. She had to be beaten here. If necessary, she’d have to be killed here.

An idea sparked in his mind. Maybe there was one way to kill her.

Putting himself between Edna and the crew, Jim forced her back into the base. She barely fit into the corridor, but he put every scrap of enhanced strength into forcing her deeper and deeper. He had to get her to the armoury. If he could get in there, get Edna in there, and set off an explosion, it might be enough to kill her.

And him. He’d have to run.

They were nearly at the stairs. Jim leapt over her. He peppered her with blows, mixing every form of self-defence he’d ever learned, along with all his bar fight experience to really piss her off. He had to make her chase him. His method worked. Edna’s fist caught him in the stomach. Breath exploded from his lungs as he fell down the stairs. He rolled to his feet, but the dizziness was back. His vision worsened. The strength in his limbs fizzled.

Edna squeezed herself down the stairs. Jim staggered onwards. He didn’t have time for a blackout. Terra Prime’s idiocy had to stop here. If Edna was stupid enough to follow him down here, she was blinded by rage. She’d had the opportunity to run, to escape and tear her way through Earth. She’d chosen vengeance instead.

And vengeance would be the end of her.

Just like Marcus.

Humanity had to outgrow its stupidity. Vengeance solved nothing.

Jim forced himself to keep moving. His stupidity and arrogance had led him here. He’d intended to come to Nevada for what purpose? To investigate? To find out why he suddenly had the same abilities as Khan? Or to find his attackers and make them pay for what they’d done? In doing so, he’d played right into Terra Prime’s hands.

If he wasn’t careful, vengeance would be the end of him, too.

Just like before.

“No,” he growled at himself, at his weakness, at his stupidity. “Not again.”

He wouldn’t put his crew, his family, through all of that another time.

Edna might not make it out, but he absolutely would.

She roared behind him. Jim spun around and faced her. “Come on,” he snarled. “You want to beat me? You have to catch me first.”

He dashed away from her. Outrunning her wasn’t a problem here, but he needed her to see where he was going. He reached the armoury. She arrived twenty seconds later. He made a show out of it, grabbing a phaser and firing it at her on its highest stun setting. She broke through the door and the wall to get in. Jim set the phaser to overload and threw it at her. It exploded in her face. She staggered back, growling, rubbing at her eyes. It was all the distraction he needed. He ran down the shelves of weapons. Grabbing a rifle, he programmed an overload for thirty seconds and tossed it at the supply bins brimming with grenades.

He just had to get out before –

Edna grabbed him by the neck. Pain shot up and down his spine as he dangled in her grip. His head would surely explode if he didn’t break free. He couldn’t twist around, and every movement worsened the agony.

He didn’t have time for this.

“Terra Prime will only be remembered for their cowardice, ignorance and hatred,” he hissed. “Humanity doesn’t need you. It’s laughing at you. It always has.”

She flipped him over her head and threw him out of the room. Jim managed to land on his feet, one hand touching the ground as he skidded away.

He only had a few more seconds.

The phaser shrieked as it overloaded. Jim watched as Edna tried to stop it, but her hands were too big. She lacked the dexterity. Her fingers slapped the weapon uselessly.

Edna wailed. She was desperate and terrified.

She looked at him, and he could see it in her face, inhuman though it now was.

Edna knew she was going to die.

Jim scrambled to his feet and ran. He made it to the foot of the stairwell. The explosion behind him sent massive shockwaves through the air. It propelled him onwards, the heat incredible. The back of his clothes singed and burned. The fire kept coming. Jim put everything into his legs. If he didn’t outrun it, the explosion would consume him, too.

He made it to the top of the stairs and kept going.

His legs gained weight with every step. His overtaxed lungs took in less air with every breath. His vision tunnelled down to the light at the end of the corridor.

He sprinted into the hanger. His people were clear. Fire broke out of the doorway, but it was out of energy. It could reach no further.

Jim tripped over his own feet. When he hit the ground this time, he didn’t bother to fight his way back up. He had nothing left. His muscles quivered. He couldn’t get enough air. His head danced and his vision sparked. The world pulsed around him. His body’s injuries made themselves known.

Now wouldn’t be such a bad time for a blackout.

“Captain!” It was Sulu. He crouched at Jim’s side. “Backup’s here. Chekov and Spock are fine. We need to get you back to Starfleet Medical and –”

A terrible moan came from behind. Curiosity won out and Jim tried to push himself to his feet. Sulu grabbed him and eased him upright.

Edna, human again, staggered towards them. Her clothes were gone. Her skin was blistered and puckered with burns and blood. With every step, she left more of her skin behind.

She wasn’t going to survive for long.

“ _Kiiiiiiiiiiirk_!” It was a long, drawn-out groan. She was beaten. Broken.

Dying.

“Help me get to her,” Jim ordered Sulu.

“Sir, she’s – ”

“Help me!”

Sulu didn’t argue again. He helped Jim move to Edna’s side. Skin sloughed off her as they closed in. Jim stared at her. She’d lost an eye. Her teeth were bloodstained, but clenched. Her body was disintegrating before their eyes, and yet she hadn’t given up the fight.

“I’m sorry,” Jim said. “You’ve lost.”

Her body sagged. Her surviving eye rolled back. Edna hit the ground. Blood and flesh spread beneath her.

“It’s over,” Sulu said.

Jim celebrated by passing out in his helmsman’s arms.


	13. Chapter 13

“Hey, Bones?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m really sorry my flu turned into out of control superpowers.”

Leonard chuckled as he withdrew another vial of blood from Jim. “Superpowers is a strong word.” He placed it on the tray of supplies he’d brought into the isolation room at Starfleet Medical. “Temporarily enhanced strength, maybe.”

“Your jealousy is noted.”

“Do I need to adjust your mood stabilisers? Everyone you’ve crossed paths with told me what a bastard you were being.”

“I know.” Jim leaned back in his chair, feet on his coffee table. At least they hadn’t confined him to the bed, despite the injuries he’d picked up fighting Edna or his frequent blackouts. The constant fever wasn’t much fun either. He was averaging two an hour now, and coming around from them took longer and longer. Twenty-four hours into his stay and it was already driving him to distraction, regardless of the mood stabilisers. No one would give him access to Terra Prime’s database, despite Bones assuring him Chekov and Spock had successfully decrypted the information. Instead, the screen built into the wall showed a historical documentary about Earth’s pre-warp history. Jim couldn’t watch the news, not with his own face all over it. Again. “I’m sorry. I’ve made another mess for people to clear up.”

“Stow the self-pity,” Leonard ordered. “Think of it this way, you’ve taken down a terrorist organisation. That’s not such a bad thing.”

“Whatever.”

“Jim.”

He pressed his hands to his face and rubbed hard. “Sorry.” The mood stabilisers had removed his rage, but in its place was a black hole consuming everything. He was empty. Nothing touched him. Not really. Not without considerable effort. And he was trying. Really, he was. But being back in San Francisco in the dead of winter, with a new set of medical problems wasn’t where he wanted to be.

How could someone with genuine _superpowers_ be such a burden? The thought brought a shadow of a smirk to his face.

“How are you feeling otherwise?”

“Fine. The phaser burns healed. Everything has.” Jim looked at his friend. “Any chance you could leave the rapid healing as it is?”

“No.”

“Not even a little bit?”

“Not a chance. It’s a slippery slope.”

“It’d make away missions easier.”

“It’d give you an excuse to be crazier than you already are. No.”

Jim relented. “The others are all okay? Chekov?”

“Everyone’s fine. Chekov had a nasty dislocation, but he’s okay. They’re all worried about you, but it’s over.” Leonard sat down opposite Jim. “It’s okay to think of your own needs now and then. The rest of the Federation is there to solve their own problems, too. You don’t need to do it single-handedly.”

“I know. I’m s –”

“Ah, enough. Here, I brought you something.” He held out a PADD. “It’s your replacement. Plenty of work on there to keep you busy.”

Hoping they’d let him work on the Terra Prime database, Jim activated the screen. He was sorely disappointed. “Grading. Woo. Not exactly the best use of my time, Bones.”

“Picked up a medical degree without telling me? If so, you’re welcome to join me, Carol and Spock in the lab.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Knowing you, I’m sure you can turn the events of the past few days into a seminar for the cadets.” Leonard stood. “Call it _What To Do When Your Captain Discovers His Superpowers._ ”

“Hey, you said superpowers. So, you admit it.”

“Anything to keep a child happy.”

Jim launched a pillow at him. It passed harmlessly over Leonard’s shoulder and smacked a wall instead.

“You know that could’ve taken my head off, right?” Leonard said as he walked out the door.

“Shit. Sorry.”

“Forget it.”

The door closed. Jim was alone again. He looked down at his PADD and got to work before he could spiral off into darker thoughts.

***

“Jim is correct. The accelerated healing would be of great use to him,” Spock observed as Leonard returned to the lab.

“No, Spock.”

“It would be illogical to remove such a benefit.”

“Not when the only thing keeping him from tearing his way back out of here is every kind of mood stabiliser I can lay my hands on. Without them, he’d be swinging back and forth between wanting to protect us and wanting to wipe us out for being inferior. The augmentations Terra Prime’s serum induced are too unstable.”

“The reports on their other test subjects are truly awful,” Carol said. She sat at another of the lab’s workstations. She’d been working just as hard as Leonard, researching the various chemicals making up Terra Prime’s serum and seeing if she could dig up any pre-existing treatments. “The biological agents they pumped into their volunteers are the kind of thing I studied in my weapons history class. Some were experimental treatments given to soldiers to make them fight harder for longer, but others were chemical weapons most species eradicated from their arsenals centuries ago. It’s barbaric.”

Spock wasn’t backing down. “With some adjustments –”

“No.” Leonard met Spock’s eyes. “I know you want to protect him, but we’re not doing it this way. And I keep telling you I can’t do it. I’m finding it hard enough to isolate the compound as it is. I’m waiting on autopsy results from this Edna women to compare her body’s response to the serum with Jim.”

Finally, Spock let it go. “Given that the captain has healed from his injuries sustained in the fight with Edna, can he not return home while awaiting a treatment?”

“Not yet. Not until he’s himself again. And It’s not just the blackouts and the fever. Yesterday afternoon he accidentally stubbed his toe on the chair and snapped the leg off. After that, he put his hand through the window. Later on, one of my nurses found him on the floor and when she tried to help him up, he accidentally gripped her arm too tightly and snapped it. A compound fracture. It was nasty, Spock. He might not mean to be, but right now he’s a danger to others. If he bumped into someone, he could inadvertently crush them. He doesn’t know his own strength, and he definitely can’t control it. We’ve had to bring in furniture designed for some of the strongest species in the Federation.”

Spock’s eyebrow rose. “One cannot help but wonder how Khan and his crew were created when we, hundreds of years later, cannot do the same.”

“Who knows what kind of programme and training regime they had for augments back then,” Leonard said. “That information is lost to time. I doubt any of it was ethical. We’ll just have to make do with what we can find out for ourselves. The sooner this augmentation crap is over, the better.”

Leonard sat at his workstation. He placed the vials of Jim’s blood in front of him. He prepped for the next round of tests, brain full of thoughts and theories.

“Doctor.”

It took him a moment to respond. “Spock, I really need to work.”

“Have you considered what might happen if we cannot reverse the serum?”

Leonard paused. He braced himself on his desk. “If that happens, the admiralty has already informed me Jim won’t be allowed to leave. He’ll be considered too much of a risk for the wider public. They’ll lock him down.”

“That would not be –”

“Logical?”

“Humane,” Spock said. “Jim would be capable of learning to control his strength with the right training and –”

“Commander Spock,” Carol interrupted coolly. She was every bit as dispassionate as a Vulcan. “The serum is killing him. Slowly, perhaps, but the blackouts and the fever will cause permanent neurological damage sooner rather than later.”

“And even if we could find a way to keep him healthy, the admiralty will never allow him to run around the galaxy at free will. And, honestly, there’s no saying what might happen. The mood stabilisers are working right now, but I wasn’t kidding when I said it took everything I could get my hands on. His body is metabolising it all so fast. If he develops any kind of tolerance, we’ll be back where we started when this mess began.”

Spock accepted the news silently. “Run your tests and pass the data to me,” he said, sitting at an empty workstation. “I may be of assistance.”

They worked in silence. After an hour of comparing results and discussing theories, Edna’s autopsy results came in. “Doctor Boyce said whatever she dosed herself with is the same thing they dosed Jim with,” Carol said. “No tweaks, no updates, no nothing. It’s identical. How is that possible? Her reaction was completely different to Jim’s.”

“Spock, compare their bloodwork,” Leonard said without looking up from his microscope. “See if there’s any clues there.”

Spock did as ordered. “Fascinating,” he said. “Whereas the serum behaved like a drug in Edna’s body, used up the way a painkiller would be, in Jim’s it is reacting with something lingering in his blood. It has become self-sustaining.”

“Khan’s blood. The serum reacted with what’s left in Jim,” Leonard said. “Shit.” He sat back. “I need to go home and pick up my research. There could be something in it that will help us. I did run a few simulations on the long term effects. There may be a way to use it to neutralise the serum.”

“I shall accompany you.”

“I’ll keep an eye on the tests,” Carol said.

“Thanks, Carol.” Leonard led Spock to the door. The Vulcan had never been to Leonard’s apartment before. Looked like there’d be a first time for everything. “I still haven’t had a chance to properly tidy up. Wasn’t exactly planning on being here this side of new year.”

“I do not intend to cast judgement on the state of your living arrangements when we are not aboard the _Enterprise._ ”

A startled squeak came from Carol. Leonard rolled his eyes. Spock was unperturbed.

“Let’s go, Spock, before I start casting my own kind of judgements.”

“As usual, Doctor, emotion clouds your ability to respond to a perfectly simple statement,” Spock said, following Leonard out.

If either of them heard Carol bursting into laughter, neither of them mentioned it to the other.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for not updating yesterday. I have an ear infection which serves me right for being so mean to Jim :P

Jim jolted awake. He was on the ground, the remains of a coffee mug shattered next to him. Music emerged from somewhere above him as the show he’d watched hit the ending credits. His head was slow to shrug off the dizziness. He swallowed hard to hold a bout of vomit at bay. Time trickled by. Eventually, he forced himself to sit up. He grabbed the bed and hauled himself to his feet. A nurse came in. “Captain Kirk, are you alright?” It was Nurse Xian. Jim hadn’t seen him since he’d been discharged the last time he’d been in the hospital in the aftermath of the Khan and Marcus incident.

“Fine,” he said. He submitted to Xian’s scan without complaint. “How’s everything out there?”

“Good,” he said brightly. He flipped open his tricorder and scanned Jim from head to toe. “Doctor McCoy thinks he’s closing in on a treatment. He, Commander Spock and Doctor Marcus are in the labs downstairs. They’re working hard. He told me to tell you not to make any demands, and if you do he’ll keep you locked up in here until your ship’s ready to depart.”

“Sounds like Bones, alright. He’s all heart.”

Xian chuckled. “There’re a few people here who want to see you.” He finished his scan. “Feel up to some company?”

“Sure. As long as they don’t mind me passing out midsentence.” Jim scooped up the shattered fragments of his mug. Company would be good. He wasn’t sure he should allow himself to watch another episode of _Romulan Rendezvous._ He was getting way too invested in the romance between the warship’s commander and sub-commander.

He blamed the latest cocktail of drugs Bones had him on. That had to be it. No way was he that much of a sap.

How could he be, when he was also a murderer? How many of Terra Prime’s agents had he killed? What the hell would Command say?

Unaware of Jim’s brooding, Xian continued. “I’ll go get them. Oh, and I’ve brought in some more cooling packs.” He pointed to the small collection on the coffee table. “Your fever’s up, but those should help.”

“Thanks.”

Xian left. Jim noticed the coffee stain on his sweatpants. He considered changing, but then figured his crew were pretty used to seeing him with various food and drink stains down his uniform. God knew Spock gave him enough grief about it all. He grabbed a towel out of his bathroom and cleaned up the mess on the ground. He stood, plucked an ice pack off the table. He stood straight, the room swimming around him until his equilibrium settled. Icepack held to his head, Jim took a seat. Moments later, his door opened. Chekov was the first to come in, followed by Sulu, Scotty and Uhura. Each one held a pizza box. The sight of them brought an unexpected grin of joy to Jim’s face.

“We brought work. Lieutenant Uhura thought you might be getting bored,” Chekov said. “Is that okay?” He glanced around as if he expected Doctor McCoy to walk through a wall and shout at him.

“Thought you might want to take a look at the refit,” Scotty added. “And your input is always valued.”

“The helm controls are truly beautiful,” Sulu said. He looked dreamy. “The _Enterprise_ will be the most responsive ship in the fleet. Nothing will compare to her.”

Scotty slipped a PADD out his satchel and opened it to its widest setting. It took up the entirety of Jim’s coffee table. The crew discussed their ideas with Jim over pizza. He considered them, added a few thoughts of his own, albeit without adding them to the blueprint himself for fear of putting his finger through the screen. The others happily filled in for him. Deep down, beneath the horror of what was happening right now, Jim felt the buzz of excitement.

He couldn’t wait to get back out there. He missed the _Enterprise_. He missed space. He missed his crew, his friends, his family. Ever since Khan and Marcus, Jim knew he hadn’t been himself. He was tired of it. He wanted to get back to what he was good at.

But right now he’d settle for being freed from his room.

The discussions carried on long after the pizza disappeared. The sun disappeared from the sky. Jim was in and out, but the crew didn’t comment. They simply waited for him to pick up the thread of conversation and join in. Every so often Xian returned with fresh ice packs. The fever was unrelenting. It was exhausting, robbing him of his ability to concentrate. Fortunately, the same couldn't be said of his crew, all of whom chatted excitedly as the night wore on into the wee hours. When Jim jerked back into consciousness for a fifth time, he heard the others discussing crew assignments. With so many of the senior staff teaching, they decided to run an internship programme, with the Academy’s best and brightest offered temporary training assignments aboard.

“You really think they’ll let us corrupt the next generation, huh?” Jim said.

“They’d be insane not to,” Sulu said.

Jim laughed. He leaned back, thinking of Chris Pike. What would his old friend say if he could see him now, teaching students barely younger than himself? Since when had Jim become the mentor? He rubbed his aching head. His body shivered. The pizza sat uneasily in his stomach. Was another blackout already imminent?

“There are a few cadets in my linguistic class I’d like to –”

Uhura’s voice followed him into the darkness. He came to and found himself on the floor. Someone had placed a pillow under his head and a blanket over him. He looked up and saw Bones. Dawn gathered at the edges of the sky outside. The others were still at the coffee table, chatting amicably. Spock and Carol had joined them, too. Spock looked up, nodded to Jim, then returned to the conversation, bringing up enhancements they could make to the ship’s labs.

Jim pushed himself up. “Uh –”

“You’ve been out for about an hour,” Bones said. “But don’t worry.” He raised a hypo and gave it a shake. “This should neutralise everything in your system. I’m afraid you’ll have to kiss goodbye to those superpowers.”

“You can fix it?” Jim asked.

“Listen, kid, I’m a damn good doctor. Yes, I can fix it. All it took was going over my notes from the Khan serum, comparing them to Terra Prime’s half-assed research attempts on the serum they created, blending together a few neutralising agents and running a few tests to confirm it wouldn’t kill you. Your body is gonna be at war with itself while the Khan side of you neutralises the Terra Prime side of you, and then your own immune system washes the rest of it out. Nothing to it.”

“Your unshaven face suggests otherwise, Bones.” Jim’s nose wrinkled. “And a shower wouldn’t go amiss.”

“Shut it.”

“Doctor Marcus and I provided assistance,” Spock said from where he worked with the others. “Doctor McCoy required reminders to eat. And to not fall asleep at his workstation where he ran the risk of jeopardising the results of his tests.”

“He also required the occasional prompt to apply deodorant,” Carol added.

“Enough,” Bones snapped.

“Terra Prime were well on their way to creating a biological weapon. Imagine if people like Edna escaped and attacked civilian populations,” Carol said. “But thanks to you downloading their database, we can stop them and stop everyone who provided their chemical supplies.”

“Thanks,” Jim said. “All of you.” He tilted his head to one side and tapped his neck. “Do it.”

“Bed first,” Bones said. “You’re gonna feel tired. Drained. Headachy. Nauseous. Feverish.”

“I already do,” Jim said.

“There may be flu-like symptoms as the extra strength and enhanced senses fade away. If you start to feel too bad, let me know. We’ve run every test I can think of. It shouldn’t kill you, but I’d like to be prepared.”

“Shouldn’t. How comforting,” Jim said. He picked himself up off the floor. When his balance didn’t immediately right itself, he crashed into a nearby wall. Concrete sprayed over him. “Ah.” Everyone looked up. “Oops.”

“You have dented the wall,” Chekov said, awed.

“Shh, not so loud,” Jim said. “If anyone asks, it was already there.” The wall was deliciously cool on his flushed skin. A deep sigh escaped him. “That feels really good.”

“Need some alone time with the wall, Captain?” Uhura asked.

“Don’t give him ideas,” Bones said. “Come on, Jim.” He poked his friend. “Into bed.”

Jim pushed away from the wall. He swayed but stayed upright. “Thanks,” he said to the gathered crew. “For everything you’ve done for me. I owe all of you more times than I can count.”

“And we owe you our lives,” Scotty said. “I think this just about makes us even.”

“All the same, I’ll do my best to stop finding new ways to cause trouble.”

“Terra Prime is not a new phenomenon,” Spock said. “And as such, you did not find a new way to cause trouble. It was a very old form of trouble. If you look to Earth’s history of violent conflict –”

“He gets it, Spock,” Nyota said. She stood and gathered her gear. “We’ll see you soon, Captain.”

The others followed suit, tidying away the empty pizza boxes. They said their farewells and followed Uhura out. Once they were gone, Bones pressed the call button. A young female nurse came in. She had a fresh batch of cooling packs.

Jim carefully lifted himself onto the bed. He presented his neck. “Do it.”

Bones didn’t hesitate. He slammed the hypo home. Jim didn’t wince. The stab of a hypo wasn’t enough to hurt him right now.

“Take some preliminary scans,” Bones told the nurse. “We’ll monitor hourly.”

“Yes, Doctor,” she replied. Tricorder out, she scanned silently.

“How long will it take until I’m normal again?” Jim asked.

“Forty-eight hours, tops. In two days, you’ll be absolutely fine. You'll be your normal self again,” Bones patted his shoulder. “Just in time for the start of the new semester.”

Jim sighed. “So much for winter break.”

“What, you mean taking out a terrorist organisation _isn’t_ your idea of happy holidays?”

Jim laughed. “Not really.”

“You do surprise me,” Bones said.


	15. Chapter 15

A melodious voice called out across the serenity in his mind. “Spock?”

He opened his eyes. He’d been meditating ever since leaving Starfleet Medical earlier that morning. A nearby clock told him it was now 21:53. He felt more refreshed than he had in several days. Nyota stood in front of him. She appeared concerned. “Is everything alright, Nyota?”

“I’m sorry to interrupt your meditation, but I found something in the Terra Prime database. I’ve been going over it ever since Security asked me to look into some of the files.” She handed a PADD over. He took it. “Those are decrypted communication records,” she said. “The majority go between the base in Nevada to Starfleet Medical, here in San Francisco. Others go between the base and Starfleet Academy. The communications date back to just after the incident with Khan and continued until the explosion Kirk caused.”

“Do you know who Terra Prime was in contact with?” Spock asked. Logic smoothed over his concerns. A problem such as this could be easily remedied.

“No, the records are incomplete. I’d say someone attempted to delete them but was unable to. Whoever this person is, they are the one who leaked Kirk’s condition to Terra Prime to begin with. They knew about his death.”

“You are saying this unknown person is the reason Terra Prime knew to target the captain?”

“Yes, precisely. Spock, if it’s someone in Medical, I mean if they’re a member of medical staff, they could be there right now.”

Spock extinguished his meditation candle and stood. “Can you get a message to Doctor McCoy?”

“Doctor Boyce ordered him to take twenty-four hours off duty. I tried Carol, but she’s not at Medical, either. I’m worried if I contact someone we don’t know, we risk alerting the mole we’re onto them.”

“We must go, now.” He rushed to the apartment’s door.

“Spock!” Nyota called.

He turned and frowned. Somehow, she found it in her to smile. “You may want to put on your boots first.”

***

Time had wandered away from Jim over the course of the day. Bones was right; he definitely felt like he had the flu. His head pounded, his brain ricocheting off his skull whenever he dared to move. His throat felt like it was studded with glass shards. His joints burned, his stomach threatened to revolt (despite three previous evacuations), and the fever wracking his body kept him from finding peace in sleep. Bizarre nightmares taunted him, launching him back into the waking world. The visions of Terra Prime, mashed up with Khan and Marcus, all of them working together to burn the Earth tossed him out of sleep, only to hungrily claw at him every time he dozed off. The medical staff gave him only the mildest of painkillers, concerned anything stronger would interfere with the treatment undoing his augmentation. Jim’s superhuman strength was steadily decreasing. He just had to ride out the worst of the treatment’s side-effects.

He just wished the bed didn’t feel like a raft bobbing around on a rough ocean. It was like every single hangover he’d ever had in his life had combined into a superhangover of doom. Not that he would complain. Never. He was glad to be sweating, puking, and aching his way back to normality.

He fidgeted his way out of his blanket, the heat unbearable. He wanted to get up, shower off the sweat and grime sticking to him, but just shifting position on the bed sent daggers through his joints and limbs. No, best to stay as still and quiet as possible.

The door to his room slid open. Nurse Xian entered. He had fresh ice packs. He handed them over with a smile. “You're doing really well. Doctor Boyce is monitoring you. Doctor McCoy’s gone home for the evening.”

“Good. He only smells bad when he’s worked really hard.” Jim placed one icepack on his forehead, to bring down his fever and stun the thumping headache drumming in his skull. “Thanks.”

"You're welcome." Xian pulled a pair of hypos out of a pouch on his hip. “You’re due for another round of painkillers and re-hydration.”

“Sounds great,” Jim said tiredly. “Got a seasickness cure in there?”

“Not this time, sorry.” Xian delivered the doses. “You should try and get some sleep. By the time you wake up, you’ll feel –”

The door opened again. The nurse from earlier came in. She hadn’t been in since her initial scans with Bones. It was Xian who’d been with him all day. The younger nurse looked at Xian. The smile he gave her was tinged with confusion. “You must have the wrong room," he said. "I’ve been assigned to –”

She raised a phaser and fired. The beam caught Xian in the chest. He hit the floor and didn’t move. Limbs shrieking, room twirling like a merry-go-round, Jim pushed himself upright. The nurse kept the phaser aimed at him, but she didn’t fire as Jim slid awkwardly out of bed and placed a hand against Xian’s neck.

He was dead.

“You’re coming with me,” the nurse said. Her eyes were wide, her skin pale, but she held herself steady. “Terra Prime cannot fail. Come now and I won’t have to stun you.” The phaser flipped, changing modes. “I didn’t want to kill other humans, but I will do what I must. Edna warned me this might happen. If I can finish our work, I will cure death! Why do you think I told them to raid Doctor McCoy’s apartment, had them take him to the old space station? His work is why you’re alive, isn’t it? Khan’s blood saved you. I was there. I saw it happen. If we can give that to all of humanity, we’ll be unstoppable. We won’t _need_ the Federation!”

Jim stared at her. A thick, heavy rage burned in his gut. “Terra Prime tried to recreate what made Khan so powerful and look at what it did to Edna. It’s a dead end, just like your group. Give up.”

“We were on the right track, I know it!” the young woman insisted. “You have to come back. You have to help us work out where we went wrong. It will make every failure worthwhile.”

Jim weaved. Being upright and on his feet was not what his body wanted or needed right now. “You’re a murderer,” he said. He swallowed hard. Talking hurt. “Stop now, and this won’t get any worse for you.” He gripped the bed. “Terra Prime is finished. There’s no one else left.”

“You’re wrong. Every human on this planet is a Terra Prime operative in the making. They just need to see the possibilities.”

“Possibilities?” Jim laughed. He pushed away from the bed and shuffled towards her. “Of turning inward? Of altering the very basics of what makes us human? Do you have any idea what Terra Prime did to me? I wasn’t interested in helping people. I had no desire to do what was right. I didn’t give a _shit_ about the rest of the species. I only cared about myself. That’s no way to live a life.”

“If we refine the serum, take more of the augmented blood – ”

He lurched at her, aiming to grab the phaser out of her hands. She swung it at him. He batted it out of her hand. She lashed out with a fist. He was too slow to respond. Her punch caught his cheek. Had he been at full strength, even his regular full strength, it would’ve been a glancing blow. But right now, worn down and, essentially, coming down, she floored him. He collapsed. The phaser was on the floor behind her. She caught him staring and turned to grab it. Adrenalin flushed through him. He swung his feet around. They tangled with hers, tripping her up. She hit the ground with a thud and a cry. Jim rolled over, grabbed the phaser and fired. She slumped, unconscious.

If he shot her a second time for good measure, no one was there to see or to judge.

The adrenaline flushed out of him. Jim gasped for breath. His body trembled. Nausea churned in his gut. He became aware of a terrible scent.

Burnt flesh. No, worse. Cooked human flesh.

He rolled onto his side and vomited. The door opened again.

“Captain!”

It was Spock. He crouched at Jim’s side and helped him up. Uhura was close behind with a handful of security officers. They grabbed the woman and dragged her out. Medical staff rushed in next. Jim pointed them to Nurse Xian. Their hopeless faces said it all.

“We were too late,” Uhura said. “Dammit.” She slipped Jim’s other arm around her shoulder. “Captain, I’m so sorry.” The back of her hand rested lightly on his forehead. “You’re burning up. Come on, let’s get you back into bed.”

“No. No, not in here.” The smell was awful. He couldn’t tear his eyes off Xian. The nurse hadn’t stood a chance. Jim’s heart sank. How had the woman slipped through? “I have to get out of here.”

“Okay,” Uhura said. “Come on.” She and Spock helped him out into the corridor beyond. His legs weren’t much use. “Do you need to sit down?”

The corridor wasn’t standing still. The ground moved beneath him. He couldn't get his legs to walk in a straight line. “Yeah. That would probably be a good idea.”

“Sit here,” Spock said. He and Uhura lowered Jim to the ground. “You are not well enough to be walking.”

Spock’s words passed right over Jim. His mind was churning over Xian. He’d done nothing, hurt no one, but he was dead. Another person dead in the name of what? Self-defence for Earth? He watched as the medical team carried Xian out on a stretcher, a white sheet pulled over him. Jim watched them go.

Uhura’s voice floated over him. “Try calling Leonard again. Or find Doctor Boyce. I’ll wait here.”

Spock departed, footsteps thudding dully through Jim’s head. His body slumped sideways, but Uhura caught him. “Here,” she said, tilted his head so it rested on her shoulder. “Rest.”

Jim closed his eyes. “Sorry.” He felt awful. But at least he was alive. That was more than could be said for poor Xian.

If Uhura felt his tears pepper her shoulder, she chose not to comment directly. “It’s okay,” she said. “It can be our secret. Can’t let people think we’re friends.”

Jim’s chuckle was faint. 

“Just don’t drool,” she said. “I love this dress.” Her hand gave his a gentle squeeze. “I’m sorry.”

He squeezed back.

She sang softly. Her melodies carried him off to sleep. That was how Leonard and Spock found them a twenty minutes later. Leonard had rushed to Medical once Spock called him in. Uhura raised a finger to her lips. “He’s out.” His sweaty hair had stuck to her chin, neck and shoulder, but she didn’t mind. Not really.

“We need to get him back to bed,” Leonard said. He frowned at his tricorder like it was to blame for Jim’s condition. “Are we sure there aren’t any more Terra Prime idiots out there?”

“I do not know,” Spock said. “It would appear they have buried themselves deeper in Starfleet than we thought. We will continue looking.”

“Maybe we should move Kirk somewhere else,” Uhura said, keeping her voice low.

“Where did you have in mind?” Leonard asked. “He can’t go to his apartment here in the city, and Mojave’s out, too. Terra Prime know both locations, and I need him someplace I can keep an eye on his condition.”

“I believe I know a place that will meet both his medical and our security needs,” Spock said.

“Yeah? Where’s that?” Leonard asked.

“The _Enterprise_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter will be up over the weekend :)


	16. Chapter 16

“Hey. Jim.”

He opened his eyes and found Bones peering down at him. “Morning?” he asked through a yawn.

“Sure, one of ‘em. Probably not the one you’re expecting. You’ve been out for thirty-seven hours.”

The drowsiness slipped away. Jim’s memory reasserted itself. “Xian.” He pressed his hands to his eyes. “Dammit.”

The bed dipped as Bones sat next to him. “That nurse? Only graduated last summer. She was one of the best. She helped a lot after the Khan incident, back when she was still training. They think her ties to Terra Prime predate her arrival at the Academy. Four years of Starfleet training did nothing to knock the ignorance out of her.” He looked to Jim. “How are we meant to fight that kind of thinking?”

“By not giving into it. We know better.”

“We do,” Bones said. “Shame there’s a minority that still have to hate. Command finished decoding Terra Prime’s database. They’ve arrested every single surviving agent. There were several in Starfleet, including a few serving on starships.”

“Not anymore,” Jim said.

“Yeah, it’s over. Now, how are you feeling?”

“Normal,” Jim said honestly, his mind processing his friend’s words. “Normal’s good, right?”

Bones grabbed something and threw it at Jim. Jim reacted too slowly. The object skimmed over his fingers and bumped his head. Whatever it was thudded onto the pillow. “Ow!”

“Good,” Bones said. “Your reactions are what they should be.”

“That hurt!”

“It was supposed to.”

Jim felt for the object and discovered it was an apple. His stomach gurgled. Sitting at a recline, Jim ate so fast he practically inhaled the fruit. Bones grabbed the core and tossed it in the trash before Jim could polish it off, too. “I’m definitely normal again?” Jim asked.

Bones nodded. “It’s all over. At last.”

“What about the admiralty?” Jim asked.

“They’ll want to talk to you, but it’ll be fine.”

“Fine? Bones, I murdered –”

“Enemy combatants,” Bones said. “You can read the report later. This isn’t the kind of thing the admirals want out in the open. Not after Marcus and all that shit.” Bones held out his hand. “Come on, up you get.”

Jim took it and Bones hauled him out of bed. Jim caught a glimpse of the room. “Wait a minute…”

“Yeah, this is the _Enterprise_ ,” Bones said. “Figured it was the best place for you. Secure and near to good medical facilities.”

Jim stretched, joints popping. He sighed in relief. His head was clear, if clouded with sadness. He was sorry Nurse Xian had been one last Terra Prime victim. “I feel like myself again.”

“You are you. Everything’s out of your system. You slept hard. Do you even remember coming here?”

Jim searched his memory and came up empty. “Did we beam here?”

“No, we took a shuttle. Don’t worry, you were so out of it I doubt a herd of elephants racing down the corridors would’ve disturbed you. Come on, freshen up. I can smell you from here.”

The bitter taint of sweat made itself known. “Sorry.” Jim shuffled into his bathroom. He found a pile of his own clothes waiting for him. He must’ve left them aboard. “Everything’s working in here?”

“Most of the ship’s non-essential systems are operating. The _Enterprise_ is headed to spacedock soon for the final round of repairs,” Bones called through the door. “And then we’re gone. For five years. In space. It’s madness.”

“It’s something.” Jim turned on the shower. He had to admit having real running water was a perk he really, really appreciated. Out there, in the black, something as simple as a shower after a hard day worked wonders. He washed quickly, scrubbing hard every time his thoughts slid towards Xian or Edna or Terra Prime or further back… No. No brooding. He had to look to the future. Jim powered down the shower, towelled off, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt that were too baggy, and brushed his teeth. Refreshed and rejuvenated, he stepped out.

“Ready?” Bones asked.

“For what?” Jim asked.

“Come on.”

He followed Bones into the corridor. Everything was clean, tidy and bright. Repairs were going well. They reached a turbolift and it took them down several decks. The doors slid open with a familiar whoosh and they stepped out.

One laden with Christmas decorations. Pretty fairy lights and tinsel sparkled and flashed overhead.

“A Christmas party, Bones?”

“Sure,” Bones said. “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays of Earth and other planetary origins, and a Happy New Year party all rolled into one noisy event.”

As he said it, Jim became aware of a deep thumping from ahead. He realised they were heading for the mess hall. They passed several Christmas trees on the way.

“Bones, I haven’t bought anyone a present. I can’t –”

“You’re fine. Just get in there and have fun. It’s all you need to do.”

They stepped into the mess hall. From what Jim could tell, all of the surviving crew was there. They caught sight of him and said their hellos, raising their glasses to welcome him back. Bones grabbed a couple of drinks and handed one to Jim.

“Strictly non-alcoholic for now, okay?” Bones said.

“I got it.” He really didn’t need the reminder. It wouldn’t do to get falling down drunk in front of his crew. He took a sip of the soda. The sugar hit was just what he needed. It cut through the last of his weariness.

The crew parted to let him through, and as word went around, the music fell silent. Jim, without really meaning to, found himself in the centre of the mess hall. He saw Spock, Uhura, Sulu, Chekov and Scotty appear and stand next to Bones.

“Speech!” Bones hollered.

The cheer was taken up by everyone. Jim held up his hands to quieten them. “It’s been a weird week,” he said. “I had a run in with some terrorists who believed Earth belonged only to humanity, that we should turn inward and shun anyone from beyond our planet. But that’s not what we stand for. Not anymore, and never again. Humanity, for all its problems in the past, now looks to the universe beyond our planet. We belong in the Federation. We are proud to be a part of something so much greater than ourselves. Terra Prime doesn’t represent Earth or humanity. They are a nasty memory of the kind of ignorance we’ve fought hard to put behind us. We can’t give into those instincts to lash out and attack things we don’t understand because it scares us. Ignorance can be banished.” Jim paused. The crew stared back at him, listening to every word. For a moment, he felt the weight of their lives pressing down on him. He had died for these people, and they’d fought for him. He couldn’t let them down. “Ever since the incident with Admiral Marcus, I’ve learned that the only thing to come out of vengeance is suffering and death. I know now, better than I ever did, that standing alone and shunning the help of others is no way to live a life. Unity is the reason I’m still here today, because even when I was trying to tear the world around me apart, there were people who never stopped believing in me. I’m going back out there, aboard the _Enterprise_ , because the only way people like Terra Prime will learn the error of their ways is if we keep pressing back against the frontier of what we know and bring them into the light that is the wonder of all we have yet to find in space.”

The crew applauded. Jim raised his glass. “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a very Happy New Year.”

His toast was echoed and the music started up again. The crew broke apart into their groups.

“Nice speech,” Uhura said.

“Thanks,” Jim said.

"Are you feeling well, Captain?” Spock asked.

“I’m fine, thanks to all of you.”

“Yeah, just don’t go accidentally developing superpowers again, okay?” Scotty said. “As amazing as it was to see you leap through the air and catch someone before they could fall to their death, I think I’ll take plain old regular you.”

“That’s what you’re stuck with,” Jim said. “Plain old Jim.”

“That’s the one we need,” Bones said.

“Although watching you make that jump in engineering was unbelievable. Everyone’s seen the footage,” Sulu said. “Just think, if you’d challenged me to a fencing match, you might’ve won.”

“Wait a minute, are you actually saying the only way I can beat you is if I have augmented strength?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Sulu said with a grin. “ _Sir_.”

“Is that a challenge?” Jim asked.

“If you’re feeling brave enough,” Sulu shot back.

“Perhaps we’ll leave you two to it,” Scotty said. “But I’m willing to take a few bets.”

“Mr Sulu for the win!” Chekov declared.

“I’m willing to bet a bottle of bourbon on it,” Bones said. “Sorry, Jim.”

“Bones, I’m wounded.”

Spock’s eyebrow rose disdainfully. “Betting is an illogical human pastime, one which does not – ”

“I’ll bet a bottle of Chateau Picard on Sulu winning,” Uhura said.

Jim sighed. “You know, I’m not sure I’m ready to get my ass handed to me.”

“Ah, I might’ve placed my bet on you winning,” Scotty said. “Sometimes betting on the underdog pays off.”

“Hah hah,” Jim said.

The crew continued debating their bets. Jim listened, their conversation washing over him. Standing there, in the mess hall aboard the _Enterprise_ , made him feel normal for the first time in a long time. His ship might be standing on Earth, but not for much longer. Soon, they’d all be back out among the stars where they belonged.

For the first time in a long time, Jim felt ready for it.

He was ready to leave Earth behind him for a good long while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't mean for this to take three years, but I finally made it to the end of this story and the series. Thank you all so much for your patience and support.


End file.
